Love and War: 2nd Revision
by Elite Hunter 02
Summary: New life is about to be breathed into this story. Eventually... See Author's Note for more info.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina, it is the property of Ken Akamatsu. This fic however is mine. To produce the desired effect, I have moved up the Love Hina timeline to the present day **yet again **(sigh). Please R&R, and enjoy! As a side note, the small paragraphs at the beginning of each divided story segment (that show the date, location, status, and alert level) are crucial to the story, so please don't skip over them. I will be re-releasing the chapters as soon as possible, depending on how much editing I do.

"abc"-speech

_"abc"-_speech over radio/TV

_abc-_thought

"**abc"-**English speech

* * *

Initiating Combat Log Alpha.

Uploading Mission File Love and War…

Upload Complete.

Preparing File For Secure Network Feed…

Network Secured. Execute?

›**YES** / NO

Initializing…

* * *

**Date: **November 19, 2007; 1437 hours

**Location: **Hinata Sou. Hinata City, Kanagawa Prefecture; Japan.

**Status: **Normal

**Alert Level: **None

It was yet another peaceful day at Hinata Sou. The sun was shining without a cloud in the sky and there was a light breeze blowing. At the top of the steps leading towards the front entrance, Naru Narusegawa was taking a well deserved break from her daily chores. Now that Keitaro was studying abroad in America, she had to fill in as the landlord and do most of the housework.

"Phew, now I know what Keitaro feels like," she said, wiping her brow.

Naru's smile faded a sudden feeling of depression and loneliness hit her. Naru couldn't deny the fact that she missed him a lot, but she knew that it wouldn't be a good idea to keep thinking about him. After all, she had a dorm to run, her studies to attend to, and a part-time job teaching.

"Thinking about him again?"

Naru jumped in surprise and turned around to see her friend Mitsune "Kitsune" Konno. She stood there with her usual fox-like grin that she always wore when plotting something, with an open can of beer in her left hand. Surprisingly, she seemed to be sober (alert the media).

"Aack! Kitsune, don't scare me like that!" Naru said in annoyance. "And no! I'm not thinking about that perverted loser _again_!"

Kitsune's grin, if possible, grew wider. "Oh come on Naru. You know that you love the guy, so why do you keep denying your feelings? You were never like this when you had that crush on Seta."

That little tidbit of truth shot through Naru like an icy dagger. Naru bit her lip, trying to come up with a good excuse. Truth be told, Naru could never understand why she denied her feelings. Although she never felt like she was ready to start a more intimate relationship with Keitaro, she really, _really_ wanted to. But she couldn't bring herself to do so, especially after all those years of turning down men, proclaiming that as an exam student, she didn't have time for relationships, except that now she was already enrolled at Tokyo U, so that excuse was void.

"I don't know," was all she could say to Kitsune. Tears started to form in her eyes as her emotions took over. She tried to wipe them away, but Kitsune had already seen them.

"Come here," she said softly. Naru went over and started to sob softly into her friend's shoulder. "It's okay Naru, just let it out," Kitsune said, as she patted Naru's back reassuringly.

Naru continued to cry for a good seven minutes. After a while, she managed to regain her composure. She lifted her head to look at Kitsune, her eyes slightly bloodshot. "I'm just so lonely without him. What if he finds another girl in America? I don't think I could live without him."

"Don't worry Naru. I'm sure that he won't forget you. As clumsy and forgetful as he is, I know that he is probably thinking about you right now. He will only be gone for another five months, right?"

"I guess so."

* * *

**Date: **April 1, 2008; 1800 hours

**Location: **Hinata Sou, Hinata City.

**Status: **As of April 3, 2007; Hinata Sou is under new management, by one Kanako Urashima.

**Alert Level: **None

It was six in the afternoon. The sun was just starting to touch horizon as evening took over. Naru, Kitsune, Motoko, Shinobu, Sarah, Su, Kanako, Mutsumi, and Haruka were all in the living room watching TV. Everybody was on edge, expecting Keitaro to walk through the door at any moment. Naru was deep in thought, Kitsune was wondering how she should "welcome" Keitaro back home (wink, wink), Su was thinking bananas and what new invention she should test on Keitaro (lately she was thinking that the Mecha Tama X prototype might be a good choice), Shinobu was thinking about what to cook for Keitaro when he arrived, Motoko didn't really give a damn about Keitaro at the moment (at this point she still has complete control over her emotions), blah blah blah, you get the idea.

So, while they were watching TV, a news brief came up, interrupting the overly dramatic soap opera that was on.

"Hey, those two were just about to get it on!" Kitsune whined.

"Shut up!" Kanako yelled. "I want to hear this!"

Kitsune shot her a nasty look before returning her attention to the TV.

_"After two weeks of extensive investigating, it has been concluded by the International Liaison Department of the General Political Department, of the People's Republic of China, that Yoshi Tanaka, a business representative of the Sony Corporation, is actually an undercover agent of Japan's Defense Intelligence Headquarters. Earlier reports have indicated that he is responsible for the leak in the Weapons and Tactics Department of the People's Liberation Army,"_ the reporter said. _"It is reported that the department has had about forty percent of its blueprints and data files compromised, and most of its experimental weapons programs have been sabotaged. Chinese President Hu Jintao and State Council Premier Wen Jiabao both made statements this morning, saying that 'the Japanese have disgraced, defiled, and desecrated the entire nation of China through the illegal use of espionage agents, despite the numerous treaties that have been set in place for years.' President Jintao went so far as to say that if the Japanese refuse to compensate for this incident in the upcoming negotiations, war can and _will_ break out. We will be frequently updating on the situation. Up next, ways to save big on car insurance, and-"_

The TV snapped off as Haruka hit the power button. She had a look of exhaustion on her face, or it could have been that her last smoke was about twenty minutes ago (is that a record for her? I'm not quite sure).

"I think that it's time to call it a day," she said. Everybody got up without another word and headed to their rooms. Except for Naru, who went to the window and looked up at the sky.

"Keitaro, please come home."

* * *

**Date: **April 1, 2008; 0500 hours

**Location: **Somewhere in the United States

**Status: **Suspected Japanese spies in custody. Awaiting authorization from department head to begin interrogation.

**Alert Level: **Defcon 4

FBI Detective Alan Hartford let out a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. He knew that this investigation was a bunch of bullshit, born and bred by paranoid politicians who would rather focus on international issues that don't pertain to the U.S., rather than try to sort out the domestic issues that were more important. As he looked into the interrogation room through the one-way glass, he could honestly say that there was _no way _in _hell_ that these guys were spying for Japan.

The first one, Alan fumbled with the case file, pulling out his glasses (he hated getting old), was Seta Noriyasu, in his mid thirties, an archeology professor for Tokyo University. His driver's license has been suspended…_holy crap_, 145 times before Japan's police branches stopped recording the suspensions. Hundreds of reported automobile accidents, with practically no follow up reports from hospitals, leading to believe that this guy has survived major shit through some unknown means. Five second attention span, unaware of environmental hazards, this guy was a danger to himself and everyone around him.

The second one was Keitaro Urashima, age twenty-one, attending Tokyo University for a major in archeology. Recently received his driver's license, no accidents reported yet. Reacted negatively when introduced to female colleagues, apparently "waving his arms like a maniac, shaking his head and screaming 'It was an accident, I swear!,'" on three separate occasions. Once over his initial panic, any attempt at communication was hindered by constant stuttering, furious blushing, and trying to escape to safety, only to trip over his own two feet.

…

…

What the _fuck_? Where in the hell did the FBI come up with these guys?

**"This world has really gone to crap," **Alan sighed, closing the case folder.

**"Yo Al!" **a man walked into the room. **"The boss has given us the green light. Time to start the circus show."**

**"Hey Leonard. You think so too, huh?"**

**"Damn straight. There is no way these guys can be spies. I mean, that kid over there tripped over a fucking **_**fold**_** in the hallway's carpet, and somehow managed to grab onto Brandy's skirt as she came out of her office. She's never in the building this early in the morning! How the hell did that happen? That poor guy is a magnet for bad luck!"**

**"However, there **_**is**_** enough circumstantial evidence to warrant an interrogation at this point in time," **Al pointed out.

**"Yeah, and every politician in town is going to vote for their incarceration, unless we can somehow convince them otherwise," **Leonard replied. "**You got any ideas?"**

**"Yeah, one. But it's sure to bring Armageddon upon us."**

**"I'm willing to take the punishment. These guys don't deserve to go to prison."**

**"Okay then, let's do this."**

They both headed for the interrogation room's door.

* * *

_Why is this happening, _Keitaro thought. _It wasn't supposed to be like this._

As he sat there with his head in his hands, elbows propped up on the table, he went through everything that had occurred since he had arrived. The luggage mishap at the airport, arriving at the lecture hall, the numerous seminars, the few digs that took place. No matter how he looked at it, neither he nor Seta had done anything during the past six months to warrant this. One moment, they were leaving for the airport, and then a black van had cut off their taxi. Several men jumped out, weapons drawn, demanding that they exit the car with their hands up. No explanations were given, no words were said, they just slapped on the cuffs and threw them into the van. Now, they were sitting in a gray room with a huge mirror and one door.

_All I ever wanted to do was make it into Tokyo University and meet my promise girl. Is that too much to ask? _

As Keitaro continued to mope, Seta was doing something completely out of character: deep thinking. He knew that he had taken all the necessary steps for their trip to America; validated their visas, booked the flights ahead of time, followed airport security procedures to the letter. Hell, he had even quit driving during their entire stay, opting to instead take a taxi. What could they possibly be in trouble for?

The sound of door opening caused the two of them to draw their attention to the two men who had just walked in. As one of them sat down, the other closed the door behind him. One man had dirty blonde hair, the other had jet black hair, and both sets of hair were disheveled. They had been without sleep for quite a while.

**"Hello, I'm FBI Detective Alan Hartford,"** said the man with the dirty blonde hair. **"This is my partner, Detective Leonard Fuller. We're the men running this investigation."**

Seta sat up in his chair, an angry look in his eyes. **"Then maybe you would like to explain what the hell this is all about!"**

**"Thank God you speak English,"** Leonard sighed in relief. "**This will make things a lot easier."**

**"The reason that you are hear,"** Alan explained, "**is because the United States Government believes that Japan may have sent you two as spies."**

**"That's bullshit!"** Seta roared. **"Why the hell would Japan send spies to the United States? We're allies and trade partners!"**

Both men had puzzled looks on their faces after that statement. They looked at each other, clearly showing that they were confused as hell.

**"Wait a sec, let's back it up," **Leonard said calmly. **"Have you been watching the news lately?"**

**"No,"** Seta replied cautiously. **"Our schedule never really allowed us any free time. Why do you ask?"**

Both men now wore "Christmas Day" faces, their smiles wide. Had this been a less serious situation, Keitaro would've compared their looks to that of his friends Shirai and Haitani when they found potential girlfriends walking by.

**"I think we got our first big break Alan**," Leonard said happily.

**"Damn straight,"** Alan replied. **"Let's get the tapes in here."**

A TV monitor and DVD player were brought into the room and hooked up. Alan took a disk out of its sleeve and popped it into the player. As the video booted up, Leonard explained what they were about to watch.

**"This is CNN's coverage of the story that originally aired at two o'clock this morning."**

As the video played, the security camera in the corner of the room was watching both Keitaro's and Seta's faces, recording their reactions. The video lasted less than five minutes, and when it ended, Alan turned the television off.

**"So, do you guys understand what's going on now?" **Alan asked, turning towards the two.

"**That still doesn't justify arresting us," **Seta said, trying to keep his voice calm.

**"Actually, it kinda does," **Leonard said sadly. **"Not five minutes after this story aired, you made a call to reserve seats on the next flight to Japan."**

**"I had made those reservations months ago!"** Seta shot back. **"I was just confirming that the flight was still on schedule."**

**"Ah, but unfortunately, the airport's recording of the call was lost due to a computer error,"** Alan said**. "The person that took the call says that all he remembers was a call 'reserving seats on the next flight leaving for Tokyo, Japan.'"**

**"It's still only circumstantial evidence at best, completely based off of human error," **Leonard added. **"But there are several federal lawyers that can make even the most logical and kind hearted jury into biased, political puppets."**

**"We know that you two cannot possibly be spies,"** Alan said. **"But our word means jack shit in court. This situation is almost completely out of our hands."**

Keitaro's head perked up. **"Wait, did you say, 'Almost?'"**

**"Yes, I did. I have an idea that may keep the two of you out of prison, work off the 'debt' that you owe Uncle Sam, and perhaps even strengthen ties between Japan and the United States."**

**"What debt?!" **Seta asked angrily.

**"Well, as you can imagine, a Federal investigation isn't cheap."**

**"I'm going to forget that you even said that," **Seta said, clenching and unclenching his fists.

**"Whoa there, buddy," **Alan raised his hands up in defense. **"I'm just trying to help. If my tax dollars are going into this investigation, I want something good to come out of it."**

**"Uhh, I don't want to make the situation any worse," **Keitaro said meekly. **"But isn't this whole thing being recorded by that camera up there? Couldn't this video be used against us, maybe even get you guys in trouble?"**

**"Oh, not to worry. Recordings of interrogations are strictly for security purposes," **Leonard reassured. **"Only in the most extreme cases can the courts request a copy, and even then, the cameras don't record audio."**

**"Oh, well that's good," **Keitaro smiled.

**"Anyway, although the repercussions that may occur will most likely be career destroying for us, the plan is relatively simple, and stands a good chance of keeping the two of you out of prison,"** Alan said. **"So here's the deal: over the past few years, in order to strengthen international bonds, military information has been traded between several nations. This has resulted in an almost completely even playing field between nations on the military scale, which further more has reduced the incentive of anyone wanting to make a move on their neighbors. However, there is one thing that can't simply be traded."**

**"And what might that be?"** Seta asked.

**"Training,"** Alan smiled. **"Every military branch of every nation on this planet has a level of training required. Although many practices are commonly used, the methods behind how they are enforced aren't."**

**"In order to solve this little dilemma, governments have been authorizing their military branches to send fresh recruits to train in neighboring nations,"** Leonard said. **"The knowledge and experience the recruits gain is then brought back and shared with their country's military forces."**

**"Here's where things get interesting," **Alan took over. **"Japan and the United States have yet to complete the selection process and send their candidates. So what we are going to do, is take this up to the executive level, straight to the President, and get him to approve of the idea. Contrary to popular belief, he doesn't believe that Japan would intentionally spy on us. That is reserved to the Defense Department, who are worried about their closely held military secrets. Once we get his approval, we fill out the necessary forms, get you two instant citizenship, and assign you to one of our armed forces, where you will complete the training they demand of you, and then you will be shipped back to Japan."**

The silence that followed last for several minutes. Both Seta and Keitaro were screaming inside their heads at the absurdity of this plan. They did not want to go to prison, but this was just plain crazy. The pros and cons of this situation were many. Military training gave one an exceptional advantage dealing with day to day tasks, especially where discipline was concerned. Valuable skills would be gained, as well as the stamina and strength needed to utilize those skills. However, being kept from loved ones, friends and family for such a long period of time was unnerving. Not to mention their previous and still on going careers that needed to be attended to.

**"So?" **Leonard asked. **"What do you guys think? If we pull it off, can you endure what will come next?"**

Seta and Keitaro looked at each other, communicating without a word. They knew what the answer had to be, regardless of the ramifications it might have on their lives.

**"We'll do it," **Seta said.

**"We've been through worse," **Keitaro added. **"We can survive this."**

**"Well gentleman,"** Alan and Leonard both got up. **"There's much to do, so let's get started."**


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: I'm surprised that out of the 151 hits the revised version of chapter one recieved, nobody has left any reviews, particularly pertaining to the three extra pages I added for plot development. You'd think somebody would have something to say. It's a little disappointing...Anyway, not much new for chapter two besides added commentary for the news broadcast in the beginning, and added dialogue between the girls. Another major change, hinted at the end if you catch it, will completely redraw the story starting next chapter (that's what I think, but time will tell). In the mean time, R&R and enjoy! Peace Out!

"abc"-speech

_abc_-thought speech

_"abc"_-speech over TV/radio

"**abc**"-English speech

* * *

**Date:** April 29, 2009; 0345 hours

**Location: **CNN Japanese Headquarters, Hinata City.

**Status:** Urgent broadcast transmissions in effect.

**Alert Level:** Defcon 3

_"It is now month two of the war. The PLA has already crossed the Korea Strait to the Japanese islands of Kyushu and Shikoku, and is currently advancing through Kyoto. They are expected to reach Nagoya by eight o'clock this evening. Despite their best attempts, the JSDF is being overwhelmed by sheer numbers and intense firepower. Two of our on-site military correspondents have already been grievously injured, and the rest report that the frontline is heavily saturated with artillery and mortar fire. AA tracers and rockets light the night, the latter landing within meters of their positions. _

_"Urgent pleas to the Russians for help have turned up nothing yet_(1)_. The U.S. military bases of Yokota and Yokosuka, however, are for the moment on high alert. The American President is currently pushing Congress for a declaration of war, arguing that the U.S. is obligated to defend her allies, especially those who are major trade partners. However, the same could be said for China, which manufactures a considerable percentage of all consumer goods in the U.S. Our American correspondents say that the latter has recently become null and void, due not only to increasingly frequent reports of unsafe Chinese products, but due to the extremely unfair trade deficit that benefits China. Economists say that China is now burning all of that unfairly earned capital on their war against Japan, which, despite its being based on semi-valid reasons, is completely out of line. The U.S. Congress is being pressed for all these reasons, but until they pass a declaration of war, the USMC military personnel in Yokota and Yokosuka cannot mobilize. At this rate it is advised that all residents of Tokyo and the surrounding prefectures evacuate immediately…"_

* * *

**Date: **May 1, 2009; 0857 hours

**Location: **Hinata Sou. Hinata City, Kanagawa Prefecture; Japan.

**Status:** Elevated stress levels detected.

**Alert Level:** Defcon 3

"Nya ha ha! It's finished!" Su yelled happily, turning her blowtorch off. Kitsune, who happened to be on her way to the kitchen for some Tylenol (she had yet another hangover), heard this and came over to Su.

"What's finished?" she asked.

"The new Hinata Sou all-purpose anti-personnel security system!" Su replied, throwing confetti into the air. "This system will make sure that the Chinese don't get within a hundred meters of this place. I even built a bomb shelter in the basement!"

Kitsune sweat dropped. "You are one crazy little girl," she said. "I don't plan on being anywhere _near _here when the Chinese come rolling down the street, and neither should you."

"I was just trying to help," Su said, eyes watering.

"Don't go to the gutter so quickly girl," Kitsune patted Su on the back. "I'm sure that when the war is over, we'll be able to come home to an undamaged Hinata Sou because of your invention."

Su looked up, smiling. "Really?"

"Definitely, really," Kitsune replied. "Anyway, now that we've cleared things up, I wanted to know if you've seen Naru."

Su's smile disappeared. "Naru's still in her room. She won't come out for anything."

"She's _still _crying over him?" Kitsune asked in disbelief. "I always knew that she loved Keitaro, but this is ridiculous."

"Well, he has not called or written to us in over a year," Motoko said as she came down the stairs. "It is only natural for her to be upset."

"Aha! You miss him to, don't ya?" Su grinned evilly.

"W-What? No! Why would I miss that vile, lecherous male? If Naru was not so depressed over his absence, I would say that we are much better off without him!" Motoko was blushing furiously, and Kitsune could see it.

"There's no use denying it, Motoko," Kitsune said with a grin. "We all love the useless lug, even if he is a clumsy pervert. Heck, I wouldn't hesitate to tie him up and keep him for myself, but I can't lest I break Naru's heart."

"And I love him as a test subject!" Su said.

"Oh my, I never knew Naru had so much competition for Kei-kun's affections."

Everybody turned towards the front door to see Mutsumi. She had the usual smile and cheerful disposition, as well as her expected fainting spell as she walked through the door. She fell flat on her face, and then stopped moving.

"Looks like Anemic-Girl strikes again," Kitsune sighed. "Come on, girl. Time to wake up."

Kitsune turned Mutsumi over, only to find blank, lifeless eyes. Her mouth hung open limply, with a semi-dried stream of blood coming out.

"Uh, Mutsumi? Time to wake up," Kitsune said nervously, shaking the lifeless body. After a moments hesitation, she checked for a pulse.

"No…pulse…at all," Kitsune breathed slowly……. "OH MY GOD! SHE'S REALLY DEAD!"

"Oh my, what happened?" Mutsumi asked, suddenly sitting up straight. Everybody face faulted.

"Do you get off on scaring the hell out of us!" Kitsune asked angrily. "I was about to lose it!"

"Konno-san, I am certain that you never had it to begin with," Motoko said dryly.

Kitsune whirled on Motoko. "That's not funny, dammit!"

"Oh, really?" Motoko replied with a smirk. "I thought that it was hilarious."

"Yo, turtle lady!"

Sarah and Shinobu entered the living room.

"Hey everybody," Haruka walked through the front entrance, followed by Kanako. "We havin' an emergency meeting or something?"

"Nah, we're just chatting," Kitsune replied. "Not much else we can do besides getting plastered and waiting for the Chinese to send this part of Japan to hell."

"Auuuuuu! Don't say things like that!" Shinobu cried out, going swirly-eyed.

"Myuh!"

Tama-chan flew through a window and landed on Motoko's shoulder. Kitsune immediately pulled a camera out of nowhere and started filming.

"Rolling. Turtle attack scene twenty-two. Action!"

"Tu-Tu-TURTLE!" Motoko screamed. "Get it off of me! Get it off!"

Everybody started laughing hysterically. Since Keitaro left, Motoko freaking out over Tama-chan had been the girls' main source of entertainment. Motoko was running around the room in circles, desperately trying to avoid Tama-chan, who only wanted a kiss. But the scene abruptly changed when they saw Motoko unsheathe her sword. Fire was burning in her eyes.

"I will finally send you to the fiery pits of hell, you evil little monster!" she yelled as she brought her sword down. "Cutting Air Spark!"

Most of the room was enveloped in a cloud of smoke as she brought her sword down. Everybody dove to the side as the nearby floor was incinerated. When the smoke cleared, Motoko had sheathed her sword, and there was a crater where Tama-chan had been.

"The deed is done," she said. She clapped her hands together and bowed. "You were a worthy opponent."

"M-Motoko! H-how c-c-could you!" Shinobu started crying.

"Myuh," Tama-chan's head poked out of the crater, apparently unharmed.

"Tama-chan!" Shinobu ran over and embraced the turtle, while Motoko muttered, "Dammit."

"Can everybody please keep it down? I'm trying to sleep."

They all turned and saw Naru at the bottom of the stairs. Her face was red and her eyes were bloodshot, she had been crying recently. She was wearing a red mini-skirt and a pink T-shirt, and her hair was disheveled.

"It's good to see that you're up and about," Haruka said. "I was getting really worried."

"I'm fine, it's no big deal," she said assuredly.

"If you say so."

"Well, now that we're all here," Kitsune smiled. "How about some TV?" She flopped onto the couch, grabbed the remote, and hit the power button. CNN popped onto the screen.

_"The PLA has just finished advancing through Nagoya, and have already reached the outskirts to the west of the Kanagawa Prefecture. The U.S. Congress has signed a declaration of war and the mobilization of Marine forces from Yokota and Yokosuka has been immediately put into effect. They are expected to arrive in the next hour, and reinforcements from the American mainland are scheduled to arrive within the week. Given the current status of the JSDF, and the advancement of the PLA, Tokyo may be reached before a defensive line can be established. Once again, all of Tokyo and the surrounding prefectures should evacuate _immediately_."_

Kitsune immediately turned the TV off. She turned to see the looks on their faces.

"Maybe we should get ready to leave," she said with a blank expression on her face.

"Awwww, do we really have to?" Su asked. "With the new security system and bomb shelter, we should be perfectly safe!"

"True, but I still think that it is better to be safe than sorry," Motoko said.

"Okay then," Haruka said. "Let's start packing up."

About half an hour later, everybody had at least two suitcases of belongings ready. Except for Kitsune, who had four. Two for her clothes, one for her sake stash, and one for her…uh, various "knick-knacks." Another five minutes later, and everybody was waiting in the lobby. Su said that she had a vehicle that they could use to get out of the city, so everyone had to wait for her. But, as usual, an exciting plot twist decided to interrupt the girls' lives.

A sharp, ear-piercing shriek suddenly rang through the air, followed by a huge teeth jarring explosion outside the front entrance. The front door and most of the wall on the first floor was blown into the lobby in the form of dagger-sized splinters. Everybody hit the ground and covered their ears, trying to block out the noise. Dust and rock fragments filled the air, making it hard to breathe.

"What the hell was that!?" Sarah choked out, trying to catch her breath.

"I hope that Su didn't just incinerate our only means of transportation," Haruka said dryly.

"Bad news guys," Su said as she came down the stairs. "the gas tank is empty, so…"

She looked down at everybody on the floor, and then up to the huge hole where the front wall had been. Then she looked back down at everybody.

"Awwww, man! What'd I miss?"

Everybody looked at her like she had two heads. The silence was extremely uncomfortable. Shinobu managed to find her voice and ask what was on everybody's mind:

"You didn't cause that explosion?"

"No."

"But…if you didn't…who?"

Another shriek, and another explosion, this time it could be seen through the big hole in the wall. Something flew through the air and smacked right through the top of a tall office building about a three kilometers away. All of the windows on the top floor shattered, followed by the windows on the next floor down, and so on, causing a ripple effect. The roof caved in and the whole building came down. Plumes of dirt and debris started appearing all over the city, like when a bunch of pebbles are tossed into a pond.

"Holy shit!" Kitsune screamed. "The Chinese are attacking!"

"Oh my," Mutsumi said. "Does this mean that we aren't leaving?"

"Everybody to the shelter!" Su yelled, pointing down the basement stairs. "I'll power up the security system!"

The girls ran down the stairs like bats out of hell, only stopping to wait impatiently for Su to join them. She came down shortly after, and proceeded to open up a huge metal door in the basement wall, which led to the bomb shelter. Everybody scrambled inside as another artillery round impacted nearby. When they were all inside, Su hit a large red button, causing a half meter thick titanium door to slide down, sealing the entrance. In the shelter there were ten cots, two sofas, a wide-screen TV set, a bathroom, a kitchen/dining room, and along the wall were computer monitors. Several support beams and "bulkheads" were scattered around to reinforce the walls.

"So, watcha think of it?" Su grinned. Everybody just stood there, slack-jawed. "Pretty impressive, eh. But that's not all." She flipped a few switches, and all the monitors popped on, displaying city streets, forests, alleyways, and other various areas.

"I installed video cameras all over the city. There are five hundred in all. Even the weapons emplacements on the roof have cameras in case anyone wanted to control them manually from here."

Many of the monitors showed streets and buildings being blown apart by the endless artillery barrage. Many people were fleeing to the north. Some Japanese officers could be seen directing their troops. Every few seconds, one of the monitors would turn to static as its corresponding camera was destroyed.

"I wonder if the American military is even coming," Kitsune said morbidly.

"Let's find out then!" Su said. She flicked a switch, turned a knob, and selected a radio frequency. Extra loud heavy metal music blasted from the speakers and reverberated off the walls.

"Auugh! Turn this demonic sound off!" Motoko cried out, covering her ears.

"Oopsies. Wrong frequency," Su said sheepishly. She turned the knob and another frequency was selected. What came out was in a foreign language, English to be exact. Su activated the radio's translator, and it came out in Japanese.

_"This is Stallion One, now approaching the LZ. Alpha Company is ready for action. Over."_

"What's this?" Naru asked.

_"Stallion One, this is Control. You are go for drop. Coordinate with ground forces for simultaneous deployment. Over."_

"It sounds like a military channel," Su replied.

_"Roger that. We are commencing drop. Stallion One out."_

* * *

(1)-I'm not bashing the Russians, but from what I've read their logistic capabilities into Eastern Siberia are comprised of only one rail system, which does not allow for easy troop movement.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** Hi again! Here's the revised version of Chapter 3! Not as long as the previous two, but I hope the additional details that I put in satisfy you for the moment. Enjoy!

"abc"-speech

_abc_-thoughts

_"abc"_-speech over radio/TV

**"abc"**-English speech

* * *

**Date: **May 1, 2009; 0921 hours (Military Time**) **

**Location: **USMC CH-53E Super Stallion Helicopter: Call sign "Stallion One." En route to Hinata City.

**Status: **Combat ready.

**Alert Level:** Defcon 1

Gunnery Sergeant Steven Arezza took a deep breath as the CH-53E helicopter hit yet another wave of turbulence. He knew that this was supposed to be a simple mission; Alpha Company Third Platoon, which was comprised of twenty-two Marines, would go in, coordinate a defensive plan with the local JSDF personnel, await reinforcements and prepare for the PLA to attack. His team, Alpha One, would spearhead the insertion, going three kilometers further into the city to set up the frontline. It was supposed to be simple, but nothing was ever simple in the Marines, and deep insertions always made him nervous.

Steven was the type of person that would be willing to go on a guaranteed suicide mission if it meant the safe return of a civilian that he didn't even know. He always made sure that his team got out of bad situations unscathed. Get this, he's only been in the Marine Corp for four years. _Four years_, and already he was a Gunnery Sergeant in charge of the most deadly Force Recon team in the world. One would say that this is impossible, except for the fact that, unofficially of course, he was the best Marine ever trained. He had been through more battles, firefights, and combat scenarios than anyone around, with more confirmed kills and successful missions under his belt than everybody else. He had been given numerous promotions during his missions, and always exceeded the expectations of his superiors.

The pilot's voice came over the comm. _**"Alpha One, we are five to LZ. Saddle up and get ready to jump."**_

**"Copy that," **Steven replied. **"Get ready guys!"** He turned to his team of four men. They were well trained, experienced men, that all called him "gunny," based on his rank. Staff Sergeant Zack Harland was the team's demolitions expert and medic. The guy could blow the lock off a door without so much as a whisper, and he could turn a warehouse into a Hiroshima reenactment. Corporal John Brooks was an African American, and undoubtedly the toughest son of a bitch on the team. He was the team's automatic rifleman. His weapon of choice was the M204G Medium machine gun, which fired 7.62mm rounds, up to eight hundred rounds per minute. The guy was trigger happy. Lance Corporal Dan Hosky was the team's sniper, and hands down the best in his class. He could put a bullet through some poor bastard's left eye from 1500 yards away. His weapon of choice was the newly developed Barrett M107 Rifle with a laser scope. Right now he was manning one of the CH-53E's two XM-218 .50 caliber machine guns. And then there was the new guy…

Steven turned to the figure in the corner. The newest member, Private First Class Keitaro Urashima, had just graduated from recruit training on Parris Island. Everybody called him "Kid," which he took without complaint. He had a decent physique to say the least, and his perseverance was astonishing. When they first met, Steven had seen a fair amount of potential, despite the circumstances of his recruitment. He had him put through an extra training program, to see if he could be sharpened to the most lethal sword in the Marines. He had passed with flying colors, and now he was on his first mission.

**"Hey Kid, how are you holding up?" **he asked.

Keitaro looked up with an emotionless face.

**"Yeah, I'm fine," **he replied. **"But it's just so hard to believe that we are at war. I never thought I'd live to see one, let alone fight in one."**

**"Don't worry, we'll be fine. Remember, this is Alpha Company, the best of the best."**

**"Hey Gunny!" **Hosky yelled out. **"You better take a look at this!"**

Steven walked over to the gunner position and looked out the open hatch. In the distance, Tokyo and the surrounding prefectures could be seen, the nearest one being the city of Hinata Hot Springs in the Kanagawa Prefecture. A collection of offices, hotels, bars, houses, forests and, of course, hot springs, all gleamed in the afternoon sun. But something was wrong. In various locations, rising up from the ground, you could see…

**"Smoke?"**

He pulled out his digital binoculars, and peered through them. He activated the zoom function, and took a close up view of the town. Smoke, fire, people running and screaming, and in the distance were PLA troops.

**"Holy shit!" **he yelled in surprise. He activated his comm.** "Control, this is Alpha One! The Chinese are attacking the Hinata District! Say again, the Chinese have commenced the assault earlier than anticipated! Request that Bravo and Charlie company be immediately sent as reinforcements! Over!"**

_**"Alpha One, this is Control. Request approved. Reinforcements are en route. ETA is thirty minutes. You and the rest of Alpha Company will have to hold them off until then. Over."**_

**"Roger that. Alpha One out."**

He turned towards his team, who had shocked looks on their faces.

**"Well, what are you waiting for? Saddle up! We hit the dirt in two!"**

Everybody scrambled for their helmets and weapons. Steven and Keitaro both had M16A2 rifles with M203 40mm grenade launchers attached to the bottom of the fore grips. Brooks had his M204G, Hosky had his M107 rifle, and Harland had an M4 rifle. On top of that, everyone had a Beretta M9 pistol, four fragmentation grenades, four smoke grenades, and a LAAW (Light Assault Anti-Tank Weapon) portable rocket launcher across their backs.

_**"Alpha One, be advised, the LZ is hot," **_the pilot said over the comm.

**"Just set her down nice and easy. Let's make this drop as quick as possible," **Steven replied.

**"Contact! Two o'clock!" **Hosky yelled.

The landing zone was a mall parking lot that was surrounded on two sides by a thick tree line. It seemed that a squad of recon troops was taking cover behind the trees and firing at the chopper from relative safety. Hosky opened fire with the .50, the heavy rounds drilling into the enemy's position. It was a small scale firefight, but the chopper they were in was meant for troop transport, not close combat. A couple of bullet holes appeared in the fuselage.

_**"We're taking heavy fire!" **_the pilot cried out. _**"We have to relocate for the drop!"**_

**"Do it! Get us outta here!" **Steven yelled.

**"Get some, you bastards!" **Hosky yelled, as he sent another spray of .50s into the enemy troops. The chopper rose up and started to pull away. Hosky continued to fire.

**"Is that all you got!? Huh? Is that all you-Aaagh!"** A spray of blood shot from Hosky's ankle as a bullet went clean through. He let go of the gun to grab his ankle, but the chopper made a sudden sharp turn, and he fell out the open hatch.

**"Hosky!" **Steven cried as he jumped for his friend. He just barely managed to grab Hosky's hand and kept from falling out by grabbing the gun's mount. He strained his muscles as he tried to pull Hosky back up. Bullets were flying everywhere.

**"Kid! Give me some cover with that .50!" **Keitaro ran to the gun and started to hose the enemy down.

**"Hold on Hosky!"**

**"Don't let go! Don't let go!"**

**"I'm not gonna let go! You're gonna be okay!"**

Piff! Piff! Piff!

Three bullet holes appeared in Hosky's chest. Time seemed to slow down considerably. Hosky's pupils were dilated to the size of dinner plates, he was going into shock. Steven's adrenaline was getting kicked into overdrive. Hosky tried to say something, but blood dripped from his mouth.

**"Hosky!" **Steven cried, trying to keep a grip on Hosky's hand, but the combination of blood, sweat, and Hosky's loosening grip was making it increasingly difficult. **"Hang in there!"**

Piff!

A bullet hole appeared right in Hosky's head.

He let go.

**"Hoskyyyyyy!"**

Steven watched in horror as Hosky's body fell down to the ground below. They hadn't even gotten off the chopper and already the team had lost a man.

**"Fuck!" **he yelled in frustration, smashing his fist down on the floor.

**"Gunny, four o'clock! They've got an RPG!" **Keitaro shouted.

A rocket propelled grenade came flying through the air, missing the cockpit by inches. The pilot made a sharp turn and put the chopper into a fast ascension.

**"Here comes another!"**

Steven saw it coming. The pilot started to put the chopper into a dangerously steep nose dive, but the rocket was too close.

**"Brace yourselves!"**

The rocket impacted, and the explosive concussion ripped through the air as the chopper's tail was incinerated.

_**"We're hit!"**_the pilot cried out in dismay.

The chopper, without its tail rotor, started to go into a flat spin. It began plummeting down to the ground, losing altitude dangerously fast. The pilot was wrestling with the controls like a madman.

_**"Mayday! Mayday! This is Stallion One, I've just been hit by a Chinese RPG! My tail rotor is scrapped and I'm losing altitude rapidly! My coordinates are-"**_

**"Look out!"**

The chopper was heading for a narrow alley between two, four-story office buildings. The pilot tried to pull up, but it was too late. The back of the chopper hit the left building, sending it into a forward flip. The main rotors snapped off and flew in all directions as they hit the right building. A split second later, they were about hit the ground.

_**"HANG ONTO SOMETHING!"**_

Everything was plunged into darkness.

* * *

**  
Date:** May 1, 2009; 0926 hours (Military Time)

**Location: **Bomb shelter under Hinata Sou.

**Status: **Lockdown

**Alert Level:** Defcon 1

The girls could only watch the monitors in horror, as the Marine helicopter took a direct hit on the tail. The tail turned to scattered fragments, and the chopper spiraled down. The pilot's cries were coming through the translator in a very high volume.

_"We're hit!"_

The chopper was descending rapidly, heading for an alley.

_"Mayday! Mayday! This is Stallion One, I've just been hit by a Chinese RPG! My tail rotor is scrapped and I'm losing altitude rapidly! My coordinates are-"_

The chopper's rear collided with one of the buildings and flipped forward. The rotors snapped off and the chopper fell off screen.

_"HANG ONTO SOMETHING!"_

Static immediately poured from the speakers, and smoke started rising out from the alley.

"Oh, dear God," Motoko whispered.

"D-d-do y-you think th-that anyone s-survived?" Shinobu whimpered, trying to hold back tears.

"I hope so," Haruka said sadly.

Naru was officially out of it. She fell onto the nearest cot and started to cry uncontrollably. It had been a year-and-a-half since she'd seen Keitaro, and now it looked like she never would.

"Keitaro, where are you?"

* * *

I hope you all liked it! Please review if you have any comments, helpful suggestions, anything at all. Peace Out!


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Hey everybody! Fastest chapter edit ever! I've decided to make some major changes with regards to introducing Keitaro as a Marine, hopefully you guys will catch the differences from the previous version of this chapter. Other than that, major military upgrade: Alpha is now a full company, Alpha One just being a segment of the larger force. Hopefully this will make the scenario more realistic for those of you who are military veterans and/or experts.

"abc"-speech

_"abc"-_speech over radio/TV

_abc-_thought

"**abc"-**English speech

* * *

**Date:** May 1, 2009; 0929 hours (Military Time)

**Location: **Somewhere in Hinata City, 7 klicks from Alpha Company's frontline.

**Status: **Chopper down, crew dead.

**Alert Level:** Defcon 1

Steven snapped awake as a sharp pain shot through his leg. He opened his eyes, only to find himself surrounded by total darkness. He tried to get up, but found that his entire body was pinned down. He yelled out, but there was no response. The darkness was starting to seep into him, sucking the life from his limbs. It was getting harder to breath. He couldn't think clearly.

**"Gunny!"**

A voice penetrated through the inky darkness. It was very familiar.

**"Gunny! Hold on!"**

With a loud crack, the ceiling of the void split in two, allowing light into it's inky depths. Fresh air flowed into his lungs. Bit by bit, the pressure on his limbs was removed, and he moved around furiously, trying to get the circulation going. He looked up to see Kid, Brooks, and Harland standing over him.

**"Are you okay, sir?" **Brooks asked.

**"Yeah, I think so," **he replied. **"Did the pilot make it?"**

**"No. KIA, the cockpit was completely destroyed," **Harland said, pointing to the wreckage. The cockpit had been crushed, and the pilot's body was so trashed you couldn't tell what it was.

_**"Alpha One, this is Blackjack. Do you read? Over."**_

Blackjack was the call sign for Lieutenant Gerald Zangler, the commanding officer of Alpha Company's Third Platoon.

**"Blackjack this is Alpha One, new call sign Spade. We read you. Our chopper has been downed by PLA recon and the pilot has been killed. Over."**

_**"I heard the pilot's report before the radio cut out. I'd send a Humvee for you, but we are taking heavy artillery fire. I already got three men seriously injured. You'll have to hold your own until reinforcements arrive to take out their artillery. Over."**_

**"Understood. We will hold our ground and then fall back to a suitable location. Will notify when we do. Out."**

Steven looked up with a grim look on his face.

**"Well crap…Okay, collect the pilot's tags and move out. We have to hold off the PLA's recon until reinforcements arrive, in," **he checked his watch, **"Twenty-two minutes."**

Brooks went over to the pilot's body and carefully reached under the collar to grab his dog tags. With a yank, pulled the tags off and pocketed them, while Harland pulled out an emergency blanket to cover the body with. Once the task was completed, the team headed for the alley's exit. Keitaro was running point, so he carefully edged his way towards the alley's corner, where he peeked around to check for enemy soldiers. When he was sure that it was all clear, he waved the team forward. They ran out of the alley, and across the street towards a parked bus. It would provide excellent cover while they evaluated the situation. They piled into the bus, keeping crouched so that they wouldn't be spotted. While Keitaro covered the entrance, Steven pulled out a small GPS computer, about twice the size of a video Ipod. He punched a few keys, pulling up several pictures of deployed PLA troops.

**"Okay," **he said. "**These satellite photos show that the PLA is concentrating its artillery on the financial and business districts, effectively pinning down Blackjack and his platoon. Their recon, light armor, and backup artillery units are systematically paving the way for the heavy infantry units by advancing through the entire residential district, which straddles the hot springs and the business district. Over here," **he pointed to a highlighted structure, **"is an inn called Hinata House. The main building is three stories tall, has a perimeter fence, and is located on an elevated hill, providing an excellent view of the surrounding landscape. This is the perfect place to fall back to if things get too hot. Right now, we have one of our spy sats in position. It's putting out some hi res photos of a group of PLA recon troops, and they're heading right down this street. We are in the best possible position to execute an ambush, they have no idea that we survived the crash. Brooks, you and Harland will use this bus for cover. Harland, lay some charges along the street. Me and Kid will head to the roof of the sporting goods store across the street and pick troops off from their. As soon as they start gunning for you guys, head for the inn, me and Kid will rendezvous shortly after. Any questions?" **he looked into their emotionless, battle hardened faces. **"Good, let's do this."**

A quick check to see if the coast was clear, then Steven and Kid headed into the store across the street. Harland started laying down his explosives along the street, while Brooks got his machine gun comfortably rested on one of the bus windows. A few minutes later, Steven and Kid were on the roof with their rifles ready.

**"Okay guys, this is our big moment," **Steven said. **"This is what you've been trained for, so make me proud." **He paused to look at the computer. **"The recon unit is thirty seconds from our position, good luck everybody."**

It was the longest thirty seconds in the world. It was dead quiet, the only sound coming from the computer's blips. Brooks lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply. Keitaro checked his rifle and helmet, while Steven's mind went through multiple scenarios and outcomes of the battle that lay ahead. In the distance, figures moved along the street.

**"Harland, give me a count," **Steven whispered into his mike.

Down in the bus, Harland peered through his binoculars.

_**"Looks like…two Type 85III main battle tanks up front, twenty five infantry following in a tight block, followed by a YW534 APC, thirty infantry behind that, and…" **_he paused. _**"Two PLZ34 Self-Propelled Howitzers. Jesus, I thought you said that their recon and **_**light**_** armor was coming this way, not a whole fucking company."**_

**"Listen up guys," **Steven said into the comm. **"The howitzers are our primary targets. Harland, I want you to fire those det-packs as soon as the howitzers are within range. **

_**"Got it,"**_ Harland replied.

The PLA unit was now about ten meters from the charges. Steven prayed that Harland had completely hidden them, if one of those troops caught a glance of those packs, they were screwed. Fortunately, they didn't seem to notice anything, which was bad news for them. The tanks and infantry passed, then the APC, then the next block of infantry. The howitzers were almost there…

_**"Kaboom." **_Harland thumbed the detonator switch.

The charges were originally designed to clear obstacles and make holes in walls for swift infiltration, but could easily be repurposed to take out personnel. They were filled with C-4 plastic explosives. When those charges went off, the C-4 sent out a pressure wave that traveled at fifteen _thousand_ feet per second. Any debris picked up by the blast was instantly turned into shrapnel as crushed glass, concrete, and metal fragments tore through flesh and armor. The howitzers were instantly crippled, and the APC's tracks were busted, rendering it immobile, causing the passengers to crawl out of the wreckage. When all was said and done, the two tanks and twenty-five infantry were the only ones left.

**"Everybody open fire!" **

Steven started firing single round shots, aiming for their heads. Keitaro was still a bit green, so he was firing three-round bursts. Brooks was being his trigger happy self, hosing the exposed troops mercilessly. One of the tanks was starting to turn its turret towards the bus. It was going to put a shell right through it. Harland appeared in one of the bus's windows, with his LAAW launcher aimed at the tank. The rocket came flying out and impacted right where the turret was joined to the body. The force of the blast sent the turret flying into the air while the tank's body was engulfed in flames as its gas tank was punctured.

_**"Gunny, the infantry has been eliminated. All that's left is the tank. He's all yours," **_Harland said. _**"Me and Brooks are pulling back to the inn."**_

**"Okay, we'll meet you there," **Steven replied. "**Kid, take out that tank's tracks."**

**"Will do."**

Keitaro leaned over the edge of the for a good shot. The tank was hopelessly trying to get passed an abandoned semi. He raised his rifle and triggered the M203 grenade launcher. The 40mm grenade soared through the air, making a graceful arc before impacting on the tank's left track. The track was shattered, and disconnected, eliminating all the forward momentum on the tank's left side. It went into an irreversible left turn, and crashed through the sporting goods store's front display window.

**"He's out," **Keitaro said.

**"Let's go down there and make sure," **Steven said.

They both ran down the flight of stairs from the roof to the ground, and into the store itself. The tank was covered by all sorts of sports merchandise, and the guys inside were trying to force the hatch open. Their screams of rage could be heard as they smashed open the hatch and attempted to climb out.

**"Take 'em out!"**

Steven and Keitaro both fired at the troops. Their bodies jerked violently as the bullets ripped through them, and the lifeless corpses tumbled over the side of the tank and onto the ground.

**"Good, now we let's get the hell out of here. If anybody radioed in, their artillery will be bombarding this position."**

They both ran out of the store and down the street. The inn was nine hundred meters or so from their position, so they were sprinting with all they strength they could muster. Their sixty pound packs were getting heavier by the second, but still they kept going.

**"Blackjack, were are pulling back!" **Steven spoke into his mike. **"I am sending you the coordinates now! Over." **

_**"Roger that, we have your fall back point on the map. Will send reinforcements when available. Out."**_

Keitaro was starting to get winded. His gear was unbearably heavy, even though he had trained with it for days on end.

**"Come on, Kid. Hustle," **Steven said.

**"Yes, sir," **Keitaro panted.

A few moments later, they had arrived at the bottom of the steps.

**"Brooks, Harland, what's your current position? Over," **Steven asked over the comm.

_**"We are on the roof of the inn," **_Harland replied. _**"We have a clear view from here. It looks like the main body of the PLA's recon unit is on the way towards our position, and they are coming en masse. I suggest that you get here right away."**_

**"Copy that. We are double time to the rendezvous. Out," **Steven said**. "Let's go Kid. We are pressed for time."**

They started running up the stairs as fast as they could. They made it a quarter of the way up when their legs started aching, and they were halfway up when they had to bend over and try to catch their breath.

**"Why the hell -**gasp**- didn't recruit training have a course -**gasp**- for climbing up stairs?" **Keitao gasped.

**"Because they had no idea -**gasp**- that we would be using a hotel -**gasp**- as a fallback point. And we didn't know that -**gasp**- the Japanese people seem to -**gasp**- have a thing for building hotels -**gasp**- on top of goddamn mountains."**

**"Hey, watch it. That's my grandmother you're talking about," **Keitaro shot back.

_**"Uh, guys. Where the hell are you?"**_Harland's voice blasted over the comm. _**"The recon unit is about one hundred meters from the inn, and you're still not here! Over!"**_

**"Don't worry!" **Steven wheezed in reply. He and Kid once again started running up the stairs. **"We'll be there, you can be sure of that. Over."**

_**"They're acting like nothing is wrong, I guess nobody from the convoy we busted managed to get to their radio,"**_Brooks spoke over the comm. _**"But they are getting too close for comfort, and it now looks like--what the hell!?"**_

**"Brooks, are you there? What's going on? Over."**

_**"You're not going to believe this! Weapon emplacements just appeared all along the roof's edge and started firing on the PLA troops!"**_

**"What?"** Steven was lost, until a pair of guns appeared at the top of the steps. **"Sweet! Now we have a major advantage!"**

_**"Ah, shit! Maybe not. Some bastard just took out the turret that was covering the back entrance. Me and Harland are too busy holding them off from the west. You'll have to pick them off from inside. Over."**_

**"Copy that. We are now entering the ground floor. Out."**

Steven and Keitaro approached the hole in the front wall. Steven let Keitaro take point. They entered into a small lobby, where a pile of suitcases lay in the middle of the floor.

**"Damn. The poor bastards never had the chance," **Steven said, looking at the luggage with a sad look. Keitaro's eyes were glowing like small fires, his face was twisted into one of intense emotional pain. It was no surprise to Steven. This was Keitaro's first real combat operation, and seeing that innocent lives didn't make it is enough to send even the most battle hardened Marine into a state of grief.

**"I'll take the ground floor and basement," **he said with a hint of rage in his voice.

**"Right. I'll take the second floor and meet with Harland and Brooks on the roof. Be careful, Kid," **Steven replied. He ran over to the stairs at the end of the lobby and ran up. Keitaro went down the short hall to the left, and was about to make a right into the next hallway when a bullet whizzed by his face. He planted himself against the wall and peeked around the corner. A pair of PLA infantrymen were at the end of the hallway where it branched off in two directions. They had AK-47s and were sloppily unloading their weapons onto his position. But a confined, narrow hallway was a dangerous place to be when it came to bullets, sloppy shooters or not. He pulled his head back and gripped his rifle tightly. He was only going to get one shot at this. He ran around the corner and opened fire.

* * *

**  
Date:** May 1, 2009; 0937 hours (Military Time)

**Location: **Bomb shelter under Hinata Sou.

**Status: **Lockdown

**Alert Level:** Defcon 1

"Hey guys, two more just showed up!" Su yelled wildly. Everybody ran over to the monitors and watched intently. Two Marines were walking into the lobby, surveying the pile of luggage. One of them started speaking, and the translator converted it into Japanese.

_"Damn. The poor bastards never had the chance," _the one on the left said.

_"I'll take the ground floor and the basement," _the one on the right said.

_"Right. I'll take the second floor and meet with Harland and Brooks on the roof. Be careful, Kid," _the one on the left replied. He headed up the stairs as the other went down the hall. He was suddenly attacked by to soldiers, who sent a hail of bullets towards him. He ran around the corner and returned fire, scoring two headshots and taking the soldiers out instantly in a cloud of blood. He continued down the hall and out of the camera's line of sight. Su was about to switch to another camera, when Motoko spoke.

"What is that sound?"

Everybody looked at her, confused. But they heard it too. It was a faint beeping sound, coming from the bomb shelter's door. Su turned another camera on and a look of horror came on her face.

"The Chinese are placing explosive charges on the door!" she screamed out. "Take cover!"

Kitsune started flipping the cots over on their sides, creating a makeshift wall. Su ran over to a weapons locker, yanked the door open, and pulled out a rail gun. The rest of the girls were crouched behind the wall of cots, and Su stood behind them, priming her weapon.

"I just want to say," Naru cried out, tears flowing freely, "you've all been the best friends a girl could ask for."

The door flew inward in a flash of fire and smoke. It hit the ground, and troops immediately started to swarm in. Su thumbed the trigger, and the rail gun spewed out bullets at fifty rounds per second. One by one, a pile of PLA corpses, that resembled swiss cheese, formed in the doorway. They didn't even have a chance to return fire, as the lightning fast bullets riddled their bodies.

"Come and get some!" Su laughed maniacally. She was so busy filling the doorway with hot lead, that she didn't notice the white and gray canister that rolled into the room. With a bang, the canister burst into a ball of intense white light. Everybody covered their eyes in pain as the light rendered them temporarily blind. Su dropped the gun and fell to her knees.

"Aagh! Flash-Bang grenades!" she screamed in frustration.

The troops that were behind the protective doorframe ran into the room. Two soldiers worked together to force the girls into the corner of the room, and another one ran up to Su. He grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and threw into the corner with the others. She crashed into Motoko and fell onto the floor, swirly-eyed. Motoko was seething with rage.

"You bastard! How dare you harm a young girl!" she pulled out her sword and jumped for the soldier. He brought up his AK and started to fire wildly. Motoko blocked all of his shots with her sword without breaking a sweat.

"Ha! Do you really think that your pitiful weapon can harm me?" Motoko sneered.

Crack!

A jagged line appeared along the flat of the blade, right above the hilt. It spread to both edges in a split second, and the blade fell to the ground, completely separated from the hilt. Motoko's whole world shattered in front of her. All she managed to do was whisper, "No…"

Wham!

The soldier drove the butt of his rifle into the back of Motoko's head. She fell forward and landed in a crumpled heap on the floor. She didn't move.

"Motoko!" Naru screamed.

The soldier dragged Motoko's body to the corner and then went to guard the door. The girls examined Motoko's head. There was a large gash at the base of the skull, and it was bleeding heavily.

"Oh God. Please don't die, Motoko," Kitsune cried.

Shinobu was too far gone. Tears flowed out like Niagara Falls. She was inconsolable. Kanako embraced her in an effort to help, but nothing would work.

"We're gonna die, aren't we?" Sarah sobbed.

An explosive cloud of smoke filled the doorway. A mutilated corpse that had once been a Chinese soldier flew into the room and landed like a rag doll. The two remaining soldiers positioned themselves to the sides of the door and started to blindly fire their rifles into the darkness of the outside room. They spent their entire clips and reloaded. Thinking that no one could possibly survive such a barrage of lead, they inched closer to the doorway, suspecting nothing.

The soldier on the left doubled over in pain as a fist came through the doorway and flattened his gut. The soldier on the right fired his AK at the fist's owner, a figure concealed by the dark lighting, but missed and put a bullet through his comrade's chest. The figure knocked the rifle to the ground and performed a spinning heel kick. His boot collided with the soldier's temple, and he fell to the floor.

The figure stepped into the light. It was the Marine that the girls had seen on the monitor. He wore the Marine Corp's tell-tale sand colored urban combat suit. He had heavy boots, and loosely held his rifle out in front of him. His face was obscured by his helmet's HUD visor.

"Is everyone okay?" he asked in perfect Japanese. His voice sounded vaguely familiar.

"Y-yeah, we are, b-but our friend is hurt bad," Naru whimpered.

The man bent over and examined Motoko's head wound. He muttered something and took out a first aid kit. He proceeded to clean and dress the wound, while he spoke into the comm in rapid English.

**"Gunny, the ground floor and the basement are secured. There are nine civilians in the basement, and one of them is badly hurt with a head wound. Request support. Over."**

_**"Negative, Kid. We have our hands full keeping their recon picket from advancing. You're on your own."**_

"Behind you!" Naru cried out.

A PLA infantry squad had appeared in the doorway, their rifles raised at the ready. Keitaro raised his own, flicked the safety/fire-mode switch to "auto," and proceeded to gun them down. Two of the five troops were immediately killed, and the other three took cover behind the door frame. Keitaro got behind one of the cots and ducked as the troops started taking potshots at him. Bits of filling flew out of the mattress as the bullets tore through it. He raised his rifle over the cot's edge and started blind firing. He got a lucky shot and caught one of the soldier's unguarded side. The two others stopped to reload, and he saw his opening. He vaulted over the cot and ran over, emptying his clip into the man on the left. The man fell, Keitaro dropped the spent rifle, and proceeded to engage the remaining soldier in hand to hand combat. The guy threw his unloaded AK at him, who ducked under it and was met by the man's fist, a cheap shot to say the least. Keitaro's jaw was hit head on, jerking his head violently to the side, and causing the buckle on his helmet's strap to detach. His helmet flew off his head without the strap, and allowed everybody to get an unobstructed view of his face. The familiarities of his face struck home.

"Keitaro?"

* * *

Did you like it? Love it? Hate it? Review and tell me, please. By the way, I am getting massive help when it comes to military lingo and tactics from the book Generation Kill, by Evan Wright. For those of you who love military nonfiction, this is the book for you, it follows the Marines of the First Recon Battalion, the first men sent into Iraq. I publicly endorse this book for it's graphic realism and the wealth of knowledge about how the Marines operate. Anyway, keep those review coming! Peace Out!


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: **_**VERY IMPORTANT!!**_ Starting now, I will not be updating unless I get at least five reviews for my updated chapter. I appreciate those of you who do review, but I see that my story is getting hundreds of hits, but barely any reviews. Why this is I have no clue. So please, if you really like this story, let me know. I am not putting down those of you who _have _reviewed, I'm just trying to get proof of my expanding yet really quiet audience. Okay, I'm done ranting. This chapter is actually chapters five and six put together, I felt that having eight chapters of nonstop fighting might seem too repetitive, so I'll combine them together to make longer, more smoothly transitioning chapters. Enjoy! Peace Out!

"abc"-speech

_"abc"-_speech over radio/TV

_abc-_thoughts

"**abc"-**English speech

* * *

**Date:** May 1, 2009; 0942 hours (Military Time)

**Location: **Bomb shelter under Hinata Sou.

**Status: **Lockdown

**Alert Level:** Defcon 1

"Keitaro?"

Indeed, it was Keitaro, in the flesh. He had the same hair, the same face, everything except that he had no glasses on. He wore a very grim and serious face, and his eyes were filled with fire, something that the girls had never seen before.

Apparently, he hadn't heard Naru. He proceeded to grapple with the Chinese soldier, one hand clenched around the guy's neck, and the other keeping his right hand at bay. Keitaro brought his knee into the man's gut, then twisted him around and put him in a headlock. The guy was struggling like a fish out of water, flailing wildly in all directions. Keitaro pulled his arms in opposite directions, twisting the soldier's neck with a sickening _crack_. The man's body slumped to the floor, never to get up again.

**"They always put up a fight," **he said in an annoyed voice. He walked over to his rifle and picked it up. He proceeded to reload it as he bent down and grabbed his helmet. He put it on and spoke into the comm.

**"The basement is now completely secure, another squad almost jumped me. I'm heading for the roof. Over."**

_**"Roger that. Pick up the pace. Out."**_

He started for the doorway, but turned around. He went to one of the corpses and took its rifle. He looked at the girls.

"Hey Su," he said, tossing her the rifle. She caught it and looked up at him. "Just in case any more of those bastards show up." He turned and headed out the door.

The girls were dumbstruck.

"Was that really Keitaro?" Haruka asked.

"For reasons obvious to even the most dense person, I highly doubt it," Kitsune said.

Motoko was just starting to regain consciousness at this point. She winced as she sat up from laying on the floor, gingerly touching the wound on her head.

"Ugh, what happened?" she asked. "I just had the weirdest dream. Urashima saved us from a handful of Chinese soldiers without so much as a scratch. Like _that _would ever happen."

She saw the bodies of the dead soldiers on the floor and her eyes went wide. She looked at everybody, who seemed just as dumbstruck as her.

"It was a dream, right?" she asked.

Everybody shook there heads.

"I don't know about you guys," Naru stood up, "but I'm going up to the roof."

"Are you crazy, you'll get killed!" Kitsune yelled.

Naru ignored her and continued through the door and up the basement stairs. She was determined to find out what the hell was going on.

* * *

**  
Date:** May 1, 2009; 0945 hours (Military Time)

**Location: **Hinata Sou rooftop.

**Status: **Engaged in combat.

**Alert Level:** Defcon 1

**"Two o'clock! Sniper!"**

**"I see him."**

Crack! Crack!

**"Target eliminated."**

Steven fired a single-round shot, turning a soldiers head into a cloud of blood. They still had roughly five minutes before reinforcements would arrive, and the PLA recon unit was really,_ really_ pissed. The automated plasma turrets were a great help, but there were too many targets to keep up with.

**"Ten o'clock! Type 98 tank!" **Brooks shouted.

**"Got it."**

The tank became a blazing inferno as an anti-tank rocket connected. Debris flew everywhere, and the soldiers nearby were decimated, blood spraying everywhere. Steven turned to see Keitaro, who was holding his spent LAAW launcher.

**"Christ, what took you so long?"** Steven demanded.

**"You let a PLA squad slip in, and I had to deal with them."**

**"Well, now you can help us out."**

**"Yo! Twelve o'clock high! Chopper inbound!"** Harland yelled.

**"Oh shit, we didn't bring any AA ammo!" **Steven swore. **"Brooks, take the bastard out of the sky!"**

**"Target confirmed!"**

Brooks' M240G's 7.62mm rounds flew through the air and hit the chopper, leaving barely visible scratches. Brooks yelled in frustration, as he continued to unload on the chopper.

**"That armor is too thick! I can't penetrate it!"**

**"Dammit!" **Steven shouldered his rifle, aiming at the chopper. "**Frag out!" **He depressed the trigger on the M203 and launched a fragmentation grenade. It went soaring and impacted on the chopper's side with a bang. The chopper lurched to the side as smoke and flames poured from the newly made hole. But the smoke was soon replaced with a white fog, and the flames died.

**"That chopper has a fire suppression system!"** Keitaro cried.

**"Son of a bitch! We need AA support or we're gonna get killed!" **Steven shouted. He targeted a man on the ground and planted three rounds into his gut.

**"Look out! He's strafing the building!" **Harland yelled.

**"Everybody hit the deck!"**

The chopper came down the length of the building, sending a streaming hail of 50mm high explosive rounds down at the exposed Marines. Everyone dived to the side as the spot where they had just been standing was incinerated.

**"Blackjack this is Spade, where are those goddamned reinforcements!? Over!" **Steven growled into his comm.

_**"Spade, Bravo and Charlie Company are deploying into the hot zone as we speak, and we got fast movers inbound right behind them. ETA is forty-three seconds. Over."**_

**"We are about to get killed here!" **Steven shouted back. "**We need those fast movers NOW!"**

The chopper fired one of its heat seekers, which sought out one of the plasma turret's heat vents. The concussion slammed into the Marines. Steven was thrown across the roof and landed next to one of the turrets. Harland and Brooks ran over to the stairway that led to the second floor, trying to draw the chopper's fire, while Keitaro ran for Steven.

**"Gunny! Are you okay?" **he yelled out, kneeling next to Steven.

**"Yeah…agh, dammit…I'll live…nooo problem," **he grunted. He turned towards the plasma turret they were near and did some quick thinking**. "See if you can find a way to get that turret to fire on the chopper. I'll help Brooks and Harland draw its fire."**

**"Okay. I'm on it."**

Keitaro got up and ran over to the nearby turret. A quick look showed that an infrared sensor was attached to the trigger mechanism (located in the turret), and an emergency power rerouting line directed the power directly to the trigger mechanism if the circuit to the sensor was cut. A small sign on the back of the turret read Emergency Manual Controls.

_**"Kid, hurry up! I don't think we can take much more abuse!"**_ Brook's voice crackled over the comm.

_Oookay then, _Keitaro thought. Taking out his combat knife, he cut the power cords leading to the infrared sensor. The power, having no other place to go, was rerouted through the emergency line, and into the emergency controls. A small hatch in the back opened and the manual controls slid out.

"Nice," he muttered, grabbing the trigger and swinging the turret around to point at the chopper. He looked up and aimed.

**"The Japanese people send their regards you motherfucker!"**

He fired the turret, sending white hot balls of plasma through the air. The chopper tried to swerve to side, but the plasma connected. The armor melted and boiled away as the plasma went through like a blowtorch through butter. The entire chopper was soon engulfed in smoke and flame. It swerved wildly, vainly struggling to maintain altitude, but it was hopeless. It went down hard, exploding with tremendous force, and sending shrapnel out in all directions.

**"Hell yeah! Kid scores again!" **Harland yelled.

_**"Spade, this is Talon One. My squadron is coming up behind you and we are about to nape the area. Get clear and keep your heads down. Over."**_

**"Roger that,"** Steven replied, smiling. **"Okay boys, sit back and enjoy the show."**

They all walked over to the edge of the roof and looked below. The PLA was bogged down behind the chopper's wreckage. They had no idea that they were about to be burned. In the distance, the Talon Squadron's jet engines could be heard growing louder.

**"Hey Kid," **Steven said, patting his shoulder. **"You do the honors."**

Keitaro grinned and looked down on the PLA's broken recon unit.

**"Five…Four…Three…Two…One…Impact."**

As soon as he said impact, the Talon Squadron's F22As flew overhead and dropped their bombs. The twenty-five hundred pound canisters of napalm transformed the surrounding landscape into a desolate, burning wasteland. Any and all PLA troops, vehicles, supplies, were now smoldering piles of ash.

**"Mission accomplished," **Keitaro said proudly.

While the guys congratulated each other with pats on the back, and, in Brook's case, butting helmets together, they didn't notice the nine pairs of eyes peeking from the stairway.

"Looks like Keitaro finally got the spine you never managed to beat into him, Motoko," Kitsune grinned.

"Yes, it appears Urashima has finally changed for the better," Motoko replied, smiling inwardly.

Naru was filled with a hurricane of emotions. Happiness, relief, love, the list was endless. She couldn't hold it in.

"Hey Keitarooo!" Naru shouted from the stairway, waving.

Keitaro turned around, as did the others. His face came into view, then his shoulder and upper torso, which had a strange red dot on it…

Crack!

Keitaro's left shoulder was turned into a fountain of blood. He looked down at the bullet hole wide-eyed, his expression was one of utter surprise.

**"Ah, god **_**dammit."**_

He fell to the ground, unconscious.

**"Sniper!" **Steven cried out. **"Get to cover!" **He looped his arms around Keitaro's shoulders and dragged him behind an air duct. Harland and Brooks dropped to prone positions and crawled to the roof's edge.

**"Engaging infrared scanner," **Brooks said.

Crack!

Harland's helmet jerked to the side as a rifle round grazed it. He ducked down and fixed his helmet, with a "holy-shit-that-was-close" expression on his face.

**"He's somewhere in the tree line! Approximately fifty yards out!" **Harland shouted.

Brook's started to scan the trees for any signs of body heat. The entire area seemed to be clear of heat signatures. The bushes and shrubs covering the ground could easily hide a person, but his body heat should be detectable. So where was this guy…

**"I see him! He's camping out in that tree's branches!" **Brooks said.

**"Take that fucker out!" **Steven shouted.

The tree was turned to splinters as Brooks let loose a salvo of heavy rounds. Branches started to fall as their limbs were completely severed. After about ten seconds, a mangled, bullet riddled corpse fell out of the tree and hit the ground.

**"Target eliminated."**

**"Area secure!"** Harland called out. He ran over to the girls, all of whom were completely distressed. Harland looked at Naru.

"You know him?" he asked in passable Japanese, pointing to Keitaro's unconscious form.

"Yes, we all do," Naru said, tears pouring out. "He used to be the landlord here."

Harland raised an eyebrow. "He failed to mention that."

"Can we see him?" she asked, her sad eyes filling with even more tears. All the other girls looked at him imploringly. There was no way he could say no.

"Yeah, you can. But you'll have to give him some space," he said. He led them over. Steven was yelling into his comm.

**"Blackjack this is Spade! We have a man down! Request immediate medevac support! He's in critical condition! Over."**

_**"Acknowledged, Spade. We are sending your coordinates to medevac helo Foxtrot Seven. Over."**_

**"Roger that, we'll pop a smoke. Out." **

Steven returned his attention to Keitaro. His face was deathly pale from loss of blood. His breathing was shallow, and his pulse was weak. Steven looked up at the girls, then at Harland.

**"Who are they?"** he asked, tension in his voice.

**"They said that they know Kid. Apparently he used to be their landlord here."**

**"No shit? He was a landlord?"**

**"According to these girls, yeah."**

**"Huh, I always thought of him as an aspiring repair man."**

He pulled a smoke grenade out of his belt, pulled the pin, and tossed over to the roof's open area. After a few seconds, the sky was filled with a pillar of dark red smoke. In the distance, the medevac chopper was approaching, flying fast and low.

**"Brooks, help me move Kid," **Steven said.

He put his arms under Keitaro's shoulders while Brooks picked up his legs. Together, they carried Keitaro over to the chopper, which had just landed on the roof. The consistent drone of the rotors drowned out everything.

**"Hurry up and get him on board!" **the crewman yelled out of the hatch.

**"How much room do you have in their?" **Steven asked as he and Brooks lifted Keitaro up and onto the stretcher that was in the chopper.

**"Enough for all the bullshit my CO gives me everyday," **the crewman replied. **"Why do you ask?"**

**"We found some civilians that weren't evacuated. They need to be removed from the combat zone."**

**"Sure thing. We'll bring 'em back to the base of operations that we set up on the outskirts of town. If you need to talk to the commander there, the call sign is Dealer."**

**"Okay then,"** Steven turned to the girls.

"Come on, everybody get on board, we're pressed for time!" All the girls climbed into the chopper and buckled up. Once they were secured, the crewman strapped into his seat.

**"Alright! Take her up!" **the crewman shouted to the pilot.

**"Got it, heading back to base."**

The chopper rose into the air and made its way back toward the temporary base located in the eastern outskirts of Hinata. Armor and infantry units were already being deployed into the streets to mop up any remaining recon patrols. All in all, everything was running smoothly.

**"Okay fellas," **Steven turned to Brooks and Harland, **"it's just the three of us. Let's rendezvous with the rest of Alpha and establish our next order of business."**

**"Yes, sir!"** they said enthusiastically.

* * *

**Date:** May 1, 2009; 0954 hours (Military Time)

**Location: **USMC Medevac Chopper Foxtrot Seven, en route to FOB (forward operating base).

**Status: **Airborne.

**Alert Level:** Defcon 1

If it wasn't for Keitaro's unconscious form laying in a stretcher with a bleeding wound in his shoulder, the ride might have been pleasant. All the girls were staring at him, hoping that he'd wake up soon. A year and a half of waiting and when they finally see him again, he gets shot. Fate can be so cruel.

Down below, small firefights were taking place between Alpha and Bravo Company, and the PLA's recon picket. The Marines, due to their intense training and skill, were easily overcoming the PLA's makeshift defensive lines.

The medevac chopper was roughly six kilometers from the base when Keitaro started to wake up. He was first aware of a dull ache in his left shoulder, which steadily grew worse. Then his hearing kicked in, which picked up the sound of helicopter rotors. Followed by his eyesight, which slowly started to focus. Straining his muscles, Keitaro turned his head towards the girls, who were taking in the sight of the war torn city below.

"Hey girls. Long time no see."

It was like flipping a switch. Their eyes went wide and looked down at him, and they all broke into ultra bright smiles.

"Keitaro!" they all shouted with joy.

"I hope you all managed without me," he said.

"We missed you sooo much!" Su said. "It's no fun without you."

"Even Motoko missed you," Kitsune said, grinning.

"Kitsune! How many times do I have to tell you before it sinks in!?" Motoko yelled in frustration. "I have no feelings for that man whatsoever beyond a simple acknowledgement of his existence!" She immediately realized what she said and looked down at Keitaro. His face showed no emotion at all, but you could tell by his eyes, the pain he felt.

"Well, I guess some things haven't changed," Keitaro said coldly. Everybody was glaring at Motoko, who hung her head in shame.

"So," Haruka broke the silence. "What's my nephew doing in the United States Marine Corp?"

"Pretty funny story about that. Me and Seta were just-

**"Contacts! Bearing two-one-nine! Three MIGs approaching at fifteen hundred kilometers an hour!"** the copilot said.

**"Hold on back there! Evasive maneuvers!"** the pilot said. He put the chopper into a fast descent, leveling out at about ten feet above the ground. The MIGs had locked on with their radar, and were engaging their missiles.

**"They have a lock on us!" **the copilot said in a panicked voice. The chopper's missile alarm was blaring. **"The MIGs have launched their missiles! We have three birds approaching at Mach Two-point-Five!"**

"Well girls," Keitaro said uneasily, "it's been nice knowing you."

Impact.

The first missile overshot and hit the cockpit from the left side. The windows shattered and flew inward, cutting the pilot and copilot to shreds. The fiery explosion burned their bodies to ash and turned the nose of the chopper into a cloud of debris. The second missile connected with the main rotor, effectively removing most of the chopper's roof. Then the third missile hit the rear, and what little that was left of the fuselage after that fell through the air, hit the ground, and due to its uncontrollable speed, started skidding down the road.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!"

The chopper was going at about a hundred or so kilometers an hour. It hit a parked car and went into a barrel roll. The girls were getting thrashed around in their seats, the safety straps just barely holding. Keitaro was strapped down in the stretcher, but it was just as bad. The chopper entered a three-way intersection, where the two streets were lined up perpendicular to the left and right, and up ahead was a building.

"**Ah shit. Not again,"** Keitaro groaned.

* * *

**Date:** May 1, 2009; 1002 hours (Military Time)

**Location: **Forward Operating Base, call sign "Control Two."

**Status: **Manned and fully operational.

**Alert Level:** Defcon 1

**"Sir, three MIGs have just shot down one of our medevac choppers. Would you like me to redirect Eagle Squadron?"**

**"Do it. Send them to hell," **General Dixon replied. The nearby radioman gave the order, and a few seconds later, the three blips on the radar disappeared.

Brigadier General Charles Dixon was the commanding officer of the three companies of Marine Corp soldiers currently operating in the region. He was an upright and steadfast gentleman, who didn't take shit from anybody. A brilliant tactician, he always put the lives of the men under his command first.

**"Is anybody in the immediate area?"** he asked sternly.

**"Yes sir, we have a five man squad from Bravo Company two kilometers to the south."**

**"Put 'em on the radio."**

The radio buzzed with static for a few seconds before a connection was established.

**"Bravo, this is Dealer. Please respond for new orders. Over."**

_**"This is Sergeant Julio Vega of Bravo One, call sign Clubs, I read you loud and clear. Over."**_

**"Medevac chopper Foxtrot Seven has been grounded by three MIGs. I want you to take your squad and check for survivors. I'm sending you the coordinates now. Over."**

_**"Understood, we are en route to the crash site. Will update as necessary. Out." **_

* * *

**Date: **May 1, 2009; 1013 hours (Military Time)

**Location: **Business District, Hinata City. Five kilometers from Forward Operating Base.

**Status: **Chopper down, crew dead.

**Alert Level:** Defcon 1

_Man, why does my head feel like a ton of bricks_? Kitsune thought.

She slowly opened her eyes and looked around, answering her own question. She was hanging upside down in her seat, held in by her safety strap. To the left and right, she could see all the other girls were still unconscious. In front of her, Keitaro's stretcher was still in place, but…

"Where's Keitaro?" she asked in a panicked voice. "Hey girls, Keitaro is gone!"

Apparently, those were the key words, because everybody's eyes snapped open. One by one, they undid their straps, fell to the ground painfully, and went over to the stretcher above them. The straps on the stretcher were all undone.

"Keitaro!" Naru cried out. No answer.

"Where could onii-chan be?" Kanako asked.

The chopper's battered body shook violently as something hit the side. The girls walked out of the chopper to find the body of a Chinese soldier laying on the ground.

"**Too easy**," Keitaro said, walking over to the body, which he searched for any extra ammo for the now unconscious soldier's Type-95 rifle. He stowed the extra clips away in his tactical vest. His shoulder wound was still bleeding, though not as much as before.

"Oh good, you're awake," he said pleasantly. "That means we can get on outta here. We have a long way to go to reach the base."

"How are we going to get there?" Sarah asked unhappily.

"We'll have to walk of course, or run, depending on the situation," he said calmly.

"What's that sound?" Shinobu asked.

It was a low rumbling sound, like a diesel engine. It was coming from down the street, where the hazy form of tanks could be seen. Behind the tanks, a block of infantry could be seen.

"And in this situation, run!" Keitaro yelled. He led them down the opposite street at a dead run. All around them wrecked cars, debris, and bodies were scattered on the ground. Many were of innocent civilians that had been trying to escape from the city. Blood coated the ground.

"Quick, into that alley!" he pointed to a dark alleyway. Everybody ran in as Keitaro checked to see if they were being followed. A few paces in, the alley made a sharp left turn into a main street. Keitaro was heading out of the alley when the ground nearby the alley was pelted by bullets. Keitaro dived back into the alley in the nick of time. He scrambled to his feet and planted himself against the wall.

**"Dammit!"** he looked around the corner and quickly pulled his head back. **"They've got an APC!"** He looked at the girls with an uneasy look. "No matter what happens, do not move from this spot or make a sound." He then ran into the street, firing his rifle wildly to pin down the gunner in the APC. He ducked behind a totaled car and reloaded his spent clip. The gunner resumed to fire the APC's 25mm cannon.

"Oh my God! Keitaro's insane!" Kitsune cried out.

Keitaro fired a three-round burst, getting a lucky shot through the gunner's open view port, and the cannon ceased its firing. Keitaro ran over to the APC, climbed up to the driver's hatch, and pulled it open. There was a muffled cry, and Keitaro fired down into the compartment. He pulled out the newly made corpse out, tossed it over the side, and jumped in. The APC roared to life, and lurched forward at a brisk pace, stopping by the alley. His head popped out of the hatch.

"You girls look like you could use a ride," he said grinning.

The back hatch of the APC opened up, exposing the main compartment. The girls clambered in, and Su entered the gunner's compartment. The back hatch closed, the driver's and gunner's hatch closed, and the APC proceeded to rumble down the street.

* * *

**Date:** May 1, 2009; 1028 hours (Military Time)

**Location: **Business District, Hinata City. Three kilometers from Forward Operating Base.

**Status: **Engaged in combat.

**Alert Level:** Defcon 1

**"Go! Go! GO! Get to that tank now!"**

Bravo team was currently get pounded by PLA infantry with RPGs. A wrecked JSDF tank was the only source of cover in the area, and Bravo was sprinting for it. Plumes of concrete debris and dirt erupted around Bravo as the RPGs flew dangerously close by. The team jumped behind the tank, scrambling to get out of the line of fire, and hoping to God that the tank could take the punishment.

**"Dealer, this is Clubs! We're pinned down by at least seven hostiles with RPGs. We need support if we're gonna get to the crash site! Over."**

_**"Negative, Clubs. All of our forces are directed at the front line. You're on your own. Out."**_

**"This is why I hate rescue missions!"**

**"Sarge, APC approaching!"**

A PLA WZ551 Wheeled IFV was rolling down the street, its main gun swiveling menacingly. It stopped just short of the infantry's position. Their yells of triumph came over the roar of the diesel engine. Too bad for them that it started shooting at them. The PLA troops screamed in dismay as their own APC fired at them. The heavy 25mm cannon rounds ripped through their bodies and sprayed blood everywhere.

**"Holy shit! That APC just fired on its own men!"** Julio yelled. **"Alright, the bastard defected! You go, man!"**

One of the soldiers positioned on the roof of a small restaurant took aim with his RPG. The APC's cannon didn't have a high firing angle, so it was useless. Suddenly, the driver's hatch popped open and a man armed with a Type-95 rifle took aim and fired. The rooftop chinaman got hit in the leg, lost his balance, and fell five stories screaming before he hit the ground with a sickening crunch.

**"Move up men!"**

Bravo team started walking towards the APC, weapons drawn in case it was a trap. They made sure to move quickly, taking advantage of the overturned vehicles and piles of rubble as cover. So far, the only person visible was the driver, who still hadn't exited the compartment. He held his rifle in front of him, but didn't have it at the ready. Nevertheless, Bravo team approached with caution.

**"This is Sergeant Julio Vega of the United States Marine Corps!" **Julio yelled from behind a large pile of concrete slabs. **"Identify yourself!"**

_Thank God._ Keitaro thought. He climbed out of the APC and dropped down to the ground. He made sure to keep his hands away from his rifle, he didn't want to be mistaken for a threat.

**"I am Private First Class Keitaro Urashima, of the USMC's Alpha Company Third Platoon," **he said aloud.

He stood in the street for what seemed like hours before Bravo team revealed themselves. Keeping their guns trained on Keitaro, they slowly walked toward him.

**"Keep your hands away from your weapon!" **Julio demanded, which Keitaro was all too happy to oblige.

Julio was the first to reach Keitaro, the rest of the team encircled him. One guy took the rifle, another checked for ID, and all Keitaro could do was stand there and keep his mouth shut.

**"Here's his ID," **the man said, pulling a small booklet from Keitaro's side pocket. He handed it to Julio, who went over it quickly.

**"He's valid," **Julio said, handing back the book.

**"Of course I am, sir," **Keitaro said.** "Can I have my rifle back, please?"**

He got his rifle back, looking to check that the safety was on.

**"How far away is our base operations?" **Keitaro asked.

**"From here, about three kilometers. They're still building up."**

**"Good. We can get there in the APC. It beats walking."**

**"Oh, that's a brilliant idea," **the guy with the sniper rifle retorted. **"Let's drive up to a U.S. military base in a Chinese APC."**

**"Radio ahead, then."**

_**"Clubs, this is Dealer, have you located any survivors? Over."**_

**"Clubs here, we read you, survivors have been located. We are en route to the base. Over."**

_**"Well you better hurry up. The PLA are massing for a counterattack on our position, and we need all available troops to defend the base. Over."**_

**"Copy that. We are hauling ass. Out."**

Julio looked up to find the APC right in front of him with the back hatch open. Eight girls (Su was still operating the cannon) were sitting in the APC. All of them had looks of exhaustion on their faces.

**"Come on! Everybody get in!"** Keitaro yelled from the front. **"And don't get any funny ideas. Those girls will kick your asses if you so much as look at them!"**

Bravo team piled into the APC. It was a tight fit, everybody was bumping into each other. The APC lurched forward, causing everybody to crash into the rear hatch. Luckily, nobody ended up in an awkward position (that's Keitaro's job).

_**"Heads up guys," **_Keitaro's voice came over the comm. _**"The PLA are lashing out with all they've got, so the ride is gonna get very rough."**_

An artillery round impacted right next to the speeding APC, which tilted dangerously to the side before righting itself. The explosions were muffled to everyone in the APC, but that didn't lessen the impact of the message it sent. _We will obliterate all who oppose us._

_"Su, chopper approaching on our six! Get a shot at it before it leaves your field of fire!"_

"Roger dodger!" Su yelled happily, tilting the targeting joystick, rotating the cannon around so that is was facing the inbound chopper. The chopper swerved wildly, evading the 25mm rounds as they came. The pilot activated the chopper's laser guided tank-buster missile. He trained the laser onto the APC and fired. The missile left its pod and sped away, locking onto the laser point. All that was left was to keep the laser on the APC…

Thunk!

One of the heavy rounds impacted on the chopper's external wing-mounted fuel pod. It burst into flames, and the chopper was engulfed in smoke. The explosion caused the laser guide to jerk upward before it was deactivated. Now the rocket was headed for the road ahead of the APC, which was currently racing to get past the same position. Problem is, the AT-2 tank-buster missile travels at about 100 kilometers an hour, whereas the PLA WZ551 Wheeled IFV travels at a top speed of eighty-five kilometers an hour. The road was only about four meters wide, and if that missile hit the ground, the crater would pretty much dead end the street for the APC.

**"Oh shit!" **Keitaro swore. _**"**__We got a missile inbound! Everybody get as close as possible to the front Su, shoot it out of the sky!"_

Everybody scrunched together, trying to press up against the front. The APC's cannon was muffled by the sound of the roaring engine. The missile was catching up to the APC and starting to descend.

_**"This one's going to be close!" **_Keitaro yelled.

**"Reason why I joined the Marines," **Julio replied.

**"What about us!?" **Naru screamed. **"We aren't supposed to be in this type of situation!"**

**"Life's a bitch," **Julio retorted, **"and we all have to deal with it."**

Naru crossed her arms a proceeded to engage in her moment of seething anger. She looked up at the other girls, who were staring at her.

"What? I took those English classes for a reason ya know."

_**"Grab onto something!" **_Keitaro yelled.

The missile hit the ground and detonated. The rear hatch was ripped off by the force of the missile impact. Had Keitaro driven any slower, the APC would have been a pile of twisted metal. Everybody was now hanging onto each other for dear life, trying not to fall out of the APC as it made several sharp turns.

"Would ya slow down!" Sarah yelled with rage. "There's no back hatch to keep us in!"

_"I will be more than happy to stop and kick your ass out onto the sidewalk!" _Keitaro yelled back. _**"Base is in sight, Sarge. Thirty seconds!"**_

**"Dealer this is Clubs. We are approaching in a stolen PLA WZ551 Wheeled IFV. Request immediate clearance. Over."**

_**"Dealer here. Clearance granted. We'll be waiting for you. Out."**_

Off in the distance was the Marine base. The first line of defense was a meter thick wall of sandbags with barbed wire on the outside. Heavy machine gun emplacements were set up all along the wall. Besides the emplacements, soldiers with anti-tank rocket launchers were crouched behind the wall. Four meters behind the first wall was a second one, with tanks lined up behind it, and snipers took up the space between tanks. Behind that was a small fence of barbed wire, which surrounded the command center, first aid tent, weapons storage, etc.

**"Kid! Tanks at five o'clock!" **Julio yelled.

In the distance, the lurched as it launched a shell.

**"Aw hell."**

The road in front of the APC burst upwards as the 125mm shell impacted, creating a meter deep crater. Keitaro had no time to react. The APC came to a head jerking stop as it fell into the hole.

_**"Dammit all!**_**"**Keitaro swore.

**"Dealer, this is Clubs. We are pinned down by a squad of tanks," **Julio said into his comm. **"Request suppressing fire. Over."**

_**"Copy that, Clubs. Sit tight."**_

A few seconds later, shells and rockets started whizzing by towards the tanks. The first tank was decimated, and the others followed suit.

"Everybody run for the base!" Julio yelled.

Bravo exited first, firing at the distant PLA troops. The girls piled out, Su stayed behind to provide cover fire with the cannon. Keitaro forced his hatch open and started to pick off soldiers with his rifle.

"Go, go! Su, get out of here! I'll hold them off!" Keitaro yelled.

Su joined the others shortly. The base was only three hundred or so meters away, but it felt like miles. The "entrance" was a section of the sandbag wall, that had no barbed wire and was only three feet high. It was guarded by two gun emplacements, which were operated by a pair of corporals.

**"Come on, move, move! Let's go!" **one of them said. One by one, the girls and Bravo team jumped over the wall.

**"The entrance through the second wall is ten meters to the left. Head to the first aid tent."**

"Wait," Naru said. "Where's Keitaro?"

"Oh dear God," Haruka choked out (once again, it may be the lack of nicotine).

Keitaro was still in the APC. He was sticking out of the hatch, picking off distant PLA soldiers with his rifle, making no attempt to run. Left and right, troops fell, but there were too many of them, and more just kept coming. When his rifle ran out of ammo, he jumped into the gunner's compartment and started hosing the enemy with bullets.

"Yeah Keitaro! Kick their asses! Woo hoo!" Sarah was jumping up and down as she cheered him on.

"I wanna help! I wanna help!" Su shouted. She immediately pulled out a giant rifle and started firing at random PLA soldiers (where the hell she had kept the gun is a mystery).

"I'm sorry miss," one of the corporals said," but you're not military personnel. I'm gonna have to ask that you put the weapon down."

"But I wanna heeeellp!" Su whined.

"Su, put the gun down and come to the first aid tent with us," Motoko said.

"Meanie," Su mumbled as she dropped the gun.

THUMP!

The ground shook violently as the rifle hit the ground. Everybody stared at it in amazement.

"Uh, Su. How much does that thing weigh?" Haruka asked.

"Oh, about twenty pounds."

THUMP!

The ground shook again, this time with more force. Shinobu lost her footing and landed on her rear. The nearby Marines were stunned.

**"What the hell was that?" **somebody asked.

THUMP!

**"Dealer this is Clubs. Can anybody get a visual on the source of these tremors? Over,"** Julio asked through his comm.

_**"Negative Clubs. There's too much smoke for our satellite to get a decent picture."**_

THUMP!

_**"Can somebody tell me why the PLA soldiers are retreating?" **_Keitaro's voice came over the comm. _**"Wasn't there supposed to be a massive counter attack?"**_

**"I have no idea," **Julio replied. **"But something is very wrong here."**

**"Contact! On the infrared scope! Twelve o'clock at eight hundred meters!"** somebody shouted. **"Anybody else getting this?"**

Bravo proceeded pull out theirinfrared scanners. When looking through an infrared filter, everything is shaded green, and heat sources show up white. Thank God it was getting cloudy, or the scanners would be screwed up from the sun's glare.

**"What the fuck is that?" **Julio asked.

On the scanner, a giant, white blotch could be seen. It had no definite shape, it kept moving, or more accurately, it looked like it was walking. It seemed to have limbs, but the scanner couldn't get a better readout. Presently, the thing was behind a fifteen story Mitsubishi office building, and the area was still engulfed in smoke and dust.

**"Talon Squadron, this is Clubs. We need that cloud of smoke removed for a clear shot at the target. Requesting a concussion capsule drop, Over."**

_**"Copy that Bravo, Talon Squadron en route to target."**_

The PDCC (Personnel Disabling Concussion Capsule) is an ingenious device. Designed for aerial drops, grenades, and rockets, the device, when detonated, creates an enormous wave of high pressure which expands at incredible speed, knocking down and temporarily stunning enemy soldiers. Perfect for hostage situations, non-lethal but very effective. Even better, it could easily clear an area of smoke and dust.

_**"Everybody duck down, cover your mouths, and enjoy the ride," **_Talon One said.

The squadron flew overhead in perfect formation. They commenced a fly-by for target verification, and then swept in. Looking carefully, the small black capsule could be trailed all the way to the ground. The capsule hit the dirt and detonated. The massive pressure wave created an ever growing dome of dust, smoke, and debris that continued to spread out in all directions. Three seconds later, it was on top of the base. Keitaro was the first to get it.

**"Alright! I live for this sh-"**

FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSHHHHHH!

It felt like getting slammed into a brick wall. Your head is snapped back and you're thrown into the air if you aren't holding onto something. The girls, who were presently being dragged into the first aid tent, were not prepared for the blast. The inside of the tent was thrown into chaos as medical instruments, blankets, bandages, and other items went flying, threatening to smash somebody's head in. The patients were lying on their cots as calm as they had been minutes earlier. Apparently, they had been through a PDCC drop before. The girls, who have never even experienced the high winds of a category three typhoon, were ballistic.

"Kyaaaaahh! We're gonna die!"

"It's the end of the world!"

**"Private! Get these girls some morphine for Christ's sake! They're gonna hurt themselves if this keeps up!"**

"Oh God, why does it have to end like this!?"

**"Lieutenant! All the syringes and vials were just blown out of the tent!"**

**"Fucking perfect! What the hell could possibly happen now!"**

* * *

**Date:** May 1, 2009; 1047 hours (Military Time)

**Location: **Forward Operating Base. Outskirts of Hinata City.

**Status: **Returning to base.

**Alert Level:** Defcon 1

Spade was currently approaching the base from the east side at a slow and steady walk. After running six kilometers nonstop, it wasn't a surprise that they were taking it slow. They were about three hundred meters from the base when the capsule hit the ground. A nearby busted humvvee was the only source of cover, so they all latched onto it for dear life.

FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSHHHHHH!

**"Woohoo! Hell yeah! That's what I'm talkin' about!" **Brooks yelled. **"Those Chinese bastards are gonna shit their pants from that blast!"**

**"Please stick to the task at hand,"** Steven said calmly. **"Let's just get to the base unscathed."**

They detached themselves from the Humvee and proceeded to approach the base. Bullet riddled bodies and fragged body parts littered the ground, most of them Chinese.

_**"Well it's about friggin' time you decided to lend a hand."**_

**"Kid? Is that you?" **Steven asked, completely surprised. **"Where the hell are you?"**

_**"Look about twenty meters to your left."**_

Steven turned his head and saw somebody waving from the gunner's position of a ditched APC.

**"Brooks, cover the left. Harland, cover our six. We're heading for that APC at eleven o'clock. Move!"**

Spade headed at a fast jog towards Keitaro's position. In the distance, the unidentified object continued to stomp around behind the tall buildings. The entire area within a two-and-a-half kilometer radius of downtown was smoke free with complete visibility, and the bastard was hiding like a little bitch. When they arrived at the APC, the now reunited Alpha team took the time to chat a bit.

**"You guys look like hell," **Keitaro said bluntly. **"What happened to you?"**

**"We were sent to rendezvous with Charlie company downtown," **Steven said. **"Our objective was to push the PLA's armor divisions uptown for an artillery strike. But we were called back to defend the base."**

**"Too bad you missed the party," **Brooks said with a smile. **"They put up a good fight."**

**"Anyway," **Steven cut in, **"what happened to **_**you**_**. You should be in the first aid tent with those girls."**

**"That was the original plan, but our chopper got shot down by some Chinese MIGs," **Keitaro said. **"It seems that God doesn't want me airborne today."**

_**"Target is now moving into the open! All units, get ready for some action!"**_

**"Hell yeah!" **Keitaro said as he readied the APC's cannon**. "I'd get to cover if I were you."**

**"Let's get in position!" **Steven said**. "Get behind whatever you can!"**

Harland and Brooks went to a nearby crater and jumped in. Steven got into a nearby busted tank and closed the hatch so that only the muzzle of his rifle stuck out. The suspense was unbearable.

**"He stopped," **Keitaro said in a surprised voice. **"He stopped right behind the Mitsubishi office building. He's not doing anything and.. And my scanner is showing an exponential increase in temperature."**

**"Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?"** Brooks asked.

SCREEEEEEEEEE!

The infrared scanner overloaded as a temperature spike of thirteen hundred degrees Fahrenheit washed through the filter. A large circular section of the building turned white hot.

SCREEEEEE-SCRASH!!

The white section of the building blew outward in a shower of white hot metal shards and glass fragments as a bright, neon-green beam of light sliced through the building and into the ground two hundred yards from Alpha's position.

SCREEEEEEEE-FWAAM!

The beam of light impacted the ground like a meteor, and the ground shook with the force of an earthquake. The impact sent a geyser of dirt into the air, superheating it and sending it all over the place, including Alpha's position.

**"Shit!" **Harland cried in pain as the molten dirt clods landed on him. **"It burns!"**

_**"What the fucking hell is that!?" **_Julio's voice cried over the comm.

**"It looks like a giant laser beam!" **Steven shouted back into the comm. **"Even we haven't been able to design that type of hardware!"**

The building began to collapse, the top level falling on top of the one below, and so on. Metal supports, slabs of sheetrock, and shards of glass came tumbling down, all fifteen thousand tons of it. The collapsing building created a wave of eye tearing, lung drying, suffocating dust and smoke, which washed over Alpha team and the base.

**"Dammit -**cough-**, not again!" **Brooks wheezed.

**"I can't -**cough- **get a visual!" **Harland choked out.

The smoke and dust was slowly starting to settle. Visibility was increasing steadily. Everybody was tense as they waited to see what they were up against. A dark silhouette appeared through the thinning smokescreen. The dust settled.

Keitaro was the first to speak.

**"What the fucking hell is **_**that**_**?"**

* * *

Bravo was crouched behind the first wall, weapons ready.

**"Okay men!" **he shouted into the comm, which was broadcasting to the entire base. "**Get your guns ready, rev up those tanks, and prepare to kick a whole lotta ass!"**

**"Oohrah!"**

The smoke in the distance was clearing. Everybody at the base had a clear view.

**"Oh sweet Jesus."**

* * *

The girls were busy getting patched up in the first aid tent. Other than the large gash on the back of Motoko's head, there were only some minor cuts and bruises.

"Hey guys," Shinobu said suddenly, "listen."

Everybody listened carefully. All they could hear were the distant rumbles of diesel engines. Other than that there was nothing.

"Why is it so quiet?" Sarah asked.

"I don't know," Naru said. She got up off her cot and walked to the entrance. She pulled back the flap and looked out.

"Oh my God."


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Just a reminder, I need five reviews for each chapter from now on in order to continue the story. Enjoy.

"abc"-speech

_"abc"-_speech over radio/TV

_abc-_thoughts

"**abc"-**English speech

* * *

**Date: **May 1, 2009; 1058 hours

**Location: **Forward Operating Base. Outskirts of Hinata City.

**Status: **Engaged in combat.

**Alert Level:** Defcon 1

The first thought that pops into a person's head is that aliens have invaded the Earth. Only when they see the conventional modern day weapons and the Chinese flag emblazoned on the front, do they realize what it is.

It was massive. It stood on a pair of armored, hydraulic legs. The "hips" were attached to a central unit by alternating hydraulic joints for maximum mobility. On top if that was what passed as a Black Hawk helicopter's cockpit enlarged five times with a small window. Braces were on either side of the cockpit. Attached to the braces were long-range, high powered rail guns housed in a hexagonal frame, with the top and bottom sides lined up with the horizon. On the lower adjacent side of each frame was another frame, which housed what looked like rocket pods. And directly above those (upper adjacent side of the first frame), were high velocity cannons. On top of the cockpit was what seemed to be an oversized, high powered telescope. On the back of the mech, a small nuclear reactor/generator was attached, with armored cables plugged into the telescope thing and the mech itself.

It just stood there, like it was surveying the landscape. A feeling of imminent death and destruction radiated from it and washed over the troops. The cockpit looked down upon the base with what could be interpreted as "disgust."

**"Nobody…move…a muscle,"** Steven said into the comm. **"Dealer, I need that entire division of tanks to start launching shells. Repeat, I need maximum cover fire. Over."**

_**"Roger. Stand by."**_

**"Thank you, Sir,"** Steven replied. **"Guys, when the shells hit that thing, start hauling ass to the base. We don't stand a chance at this range."**

**"Got it,"** they all replied.

_**"Spade, all tanks are ready, and the rest of Alpha Company is providing sniper support. Prepare for one hell of a sprint."**_

**"Roger that."**

The giant mech was now starting to walk forward. It took incredibly huge steps, which shook the ground, causing small pebbles and clumps of dirt to bounce off the ground.

_**"All units, open fire!"**_

The tanks started to launch their high velocity shells. Tracers filled the air, sailing through the air and impacting on the mech with loud bangs.

**"Move! Move! Get to the base!"**

Spade started to haul ass towards the base. Dust and dirt were kicked into the air as they ran, leaving a trail behind them. The tanks continued to shell the mech, which started taking steps back from the force of the shells. Suddenly, miniature geysers of dirt started appearing all over the area. Machinegun and rifle rounds whizzed by in waves. Attack choppers were visible coming from uptown.

**"They're launching the counter-offensive!" **Steven cried out. **"The bastards are trying to overrun us!"**

Spade ran with renewed energy, dodging bullets all the way to the outer wall. They jumped over the wall and barbed wire, landing in a rather painful heap on the other side. They quickly recovered, shaking the stars from their vision, and slammed against the wall, weapons up.

**"Pick your targets and fire at will!" **Steven yelled.

With only the distant muzzle flashes of PLA rifles, everybody started taking potshots. Brooks was doing his usual thing, laying heavy suppression fire down on the enemy. Harland had exchanged his M4 for an M21, and was now taking the role of team sniper the best he could. Steven and Keitaro kept firing bursts at any PLA troops that were trying to advance, firing the occasional grenade into the mix. While the tanks were due for ammo restocking for their main cannons very soon, the mech was being pushed back by the high explosive shells, and everybody hoped to what deity they believed in that it wouldn't recover.

**"Squad four is out!"**

The mayhem then escalated as engineers ran over to restock five of the twenty tanks lined up against the second wall.

**"Squad one is out!"**

_**"We need reinforcements!" **_Julio came over the comm.

**"Squad two is out!"**

The battle was getting very bloody. The casualties may have been mostly PLA troops, but the few Marines that did get hit, got hit bad. One poor private was hit in the left shoulder by a stray rifle round, which effectively shattered his collarbone, ripped the joint apart, and put a jagged crack in his shoulder blade as the bullet exited out the back. A group of medics rushed him into the first aid tent while he screamed bloody murder. With luck, he would eventually regain partial use of his left arm in three months.

Squad three was firing whatever shells it had left, which seemed to do the job as the mech was still being pushed back. Suddenly, the tanks stopped firing.

**"Squad three is out!"**

**"Please be dead. Please be dead. Please be dead," **Keitaro mumbled.

The mech wasn't moving. There wasn't a scratch or dent on its armor, but it wasn't moving. It just stood there as if somebody had hit the pause button. That is, until it took a step forward.

**"Shit! It's still alive!" **Keitaro swore angrily.

**"Its rail guns are rotating!" **Harland cried out.

**"Everybody hit the deck!" **Steven yelled.

Imagine a tsunami slamming into your school or office building. Then imagine that said tsunami was comprised of hundreds upon hundreds of hot bullets. That's how the troops at the base felt when the mech fired its rail guns. Each rail gun was putting out one hundred rounds per second. The base's lines of defense were getting shredded.

**"Get to cover! Get to cover!" **Steven yelled. The tanks behind them started smoking as they got penetrated by the multitude of bullets. They went up in flames as the gas tanks got hit.

**"Those rail guns are firing fucking AP rounds!" **Brooks yelled out. He was blind firing his weapon over the top of the sandbag wall so that he wouldn't get hit.

_**"No fucking wonder the Chinese got pissed about their weapons programs being sabotaged!" **_Julio said over the comm.

**"Get some men on those goddamn AA guns!" **Steven shouted over the comm's broadcast channel. The PLAAF was sending out squadrons of choppers, which included their Z-9G and Z-10 fast attack helicopters. **"Dealer, where is our air support!?"**

_**"A squadron of AH-1Zs and UH-1Ys are currently heading our way. They're about three minutes out."**_

**"Dammit! Somebody get on the radio and tell them to pick up the damn pace!" **Steven was in a _very_ angry state of mind by this point. **"I want some fifty cal rifles on that mech right now!" **

_**"The rifles are in the weapons storage tent by the command center," **_Julio replied.

**"I'll get it!" **Keitaro said. He jumped up and ran along the wall, crouched down to avoid getting hit. The opening to through the second wall was like the first, a two foot high section. Keitaro ran to it and rolled on his back over. Bullets were flying everywhere, and it was hard dodging all of them. Over the wall, past the remaining operational tanks, which were still reloading, through the hole in the barbed wire fence, and into the center of the base. Keitaro was running at top speed now, and he wasn't slowing down for anything. Men were running all over the place, trying to hold off the advancing hostiles. Keitaro ran into the weapons storage tent and started looking for the anti-tank rifles. There were pistols, assault rifles, rockets, grenades…sniper rifles.Keitaro grabbed the latches, undid them, and opened the case. The rifle was a Beretta .50-cal, laid in fitted foam, pre-assembled. He pulled the rifle out, and inserted one of the already loaded clips and chambered a round. There were extra clips in the case, which he pocketed.

_**"Kid, get your ass back out here right now! We're literally getting pulped out here! Over."**_

**"Keep your pants on, Gunny. I'm on my way."**

Keitaro ran out of tent and headed for the first wall. As he ran, he passed by the first aid tent just as somebody was walking out.

"Hey Keitaro!"

Keitaro jerked to a halt and spun around. His stomach lurched and an icy wave spread throughout his body. Standing in front of him was Naru, the one person he really did not want to deal with right now. Even though her hair was disheveled, her clothes torn and dirty, and her skin sporting numerous cuts and scrapes, she was still a vision of beauty. Keitaro didn't have the time or the patience to deal with her now, but he cared to much to just leave her.

"Naru! What are you still doing here? It's way too dangerous!" An artillery shell impacted nearby to enforce his point. A burst of tracers whizzed overhead. "You and the rest of the girls need to get outta here!" He activated his comm. **"This is Spade requesting an airlift for nine civilians ASAP-**

"Are you kidding me?" Naru cut in, an angry look on her face. "I haven't seen you in a year-and-a-half and this is how you're gonna act towards me?"

"Now is not the time for this, Naru!" Keitaro said loudly. "This base is about to be overrun by Chinese soldiers, and I am supposed to be at the front wall holding them off! I don't have time to argue with you over--get down!"

Keitaro jumped forward and tackled Naru to the ground as a Z-10 attack helicopter zoomed overhead, paving a small ditch in the ground with its 30mm cannon right where Naru was standing. The chopper pulled up and evaded the nearby AA batteries as it turned around for another pass. It loosed one of its HJ-10 ATGM missiles, and it automatically sought out the nearest heat source, which happened to be a nearby mortar crew. It hit dead on, and the men were burned and cut down before they knew what hit them. At least they felt no pain. Keitaro recovered before the missile even left the pod, he got into a crouched position and shouldered his M16. He set the rifle for three-round burst and squeezed off two at the chopper. They grazed off the wing and a few hit the fuselage, but did no real damage. The chopper veered off to regroup with his squad, but got nailed by an AA round and smashed into the ground.

_**"Spade, this is Echo Twelve. I'm on the helipad and prepped for immediate airlift. Have those civilians escorted over here on the double. Over."**_

**"Copy that, they'll be over in two minutes. Out," **Keitaro responded. He helped Naru off the ground and looked her straight in the eyes. "Listen Naru, I really don't want to have to do this to you, but your safety is important to me. I promise that we'll see each other again, but right now I have a job to do. Okay?"

Naru looked at him, tears flowing freely. She knew he was right, but that didn't make it any easier on her. With tremendous effort, she nodded her head and smiled.

"Okay," she said.

"Thank you."

Keitaro looked around and flagged down a passing medic.

**"Corpsman, I need to you to escort the civilians in the first aid tent to the helipad, double time!"**

**"Can do," **he said briskly.

"Bye, Naru! I'll see you soon!" Keitaro said loudly as he ran back towards the wall. He leaped over it and ran along the front wall until he met back up with his team.

**"What the hell took you so long?" **Steven said angrily.

**"Sorry, there was a situation I had to handle."**

**"Well, less talk and more shooting!"**

**"Yes, Sir!"**

Keitaro rested his rifle's barrel on the wall. He flipped off the safety and looked through the scope. The mech was now five hundred meters from the base, its rail guns still firing. The tanks that hadn't been destroyed were once again launching shells at the thing, but they didn't stop it. At this range, the mech's small cockpit window was just visible.

**"Gunny, that cockpit window looks like the weakest spot," **Keitaro said. **"I'm gonna take the shot, so cover your ears."**

**"Got it," **Steven replied. **"Everybody plug your ears! Fifty going hot!"**

Keitaro checked the range setting on his scope and carefully aimed at the window. As fast as these bullets traveled, even a light cross breeze could push it off target by a meter. This was going to be a tough shot to make. The crosshairs were right in the center of the window, and Keitaro pulled the trigger. The rifle let loose a quite literally ear shattering blast as the high-density, solid bronze-titanium alloy rifle round ripped through the air. It hit the mech a half second later, smack dab in the center of the cockpit window.

**"I got the hit!" **Keitaro yelled triumphantly as he peered through the scope. His smile turned into a frown when he saw the damage. **"Dammit! The round didn't even penetrate the window! The damn thing bounced right off leaving only a small set of cracks! That's got to be at least six inches of bulletproof, Kevlar reinforced Plexiglas!"**

**"The fucking thing is damn near indestructible!" **Steven swore. He vented his rage by nailing a PLA soldier's gut with a three-round burst.

**"We've used everything we got short of tactical nukes to destroy that thing!" **Harland shouted.

Click.

Harland's statement set off the little light bulb in Keitaro's head. His mind started formulating what can be considered a very desperate idea. His thinking was cut short, however, when the mech launched a salvo of rockets. Explosions engulfed the base as the rockets impacted. Bodies were thrown up into the air along with various objects, others were cut down by jagged shrapnel. Three more tanks were sent to the scrap heap as their armor was completely ripped from their chassis.

**"Gunny! I have an idea about how we can take that thing down! Do you think you can get temporary control of the all personnel at the base? I need to everyone to nail that mech at the same time for the plan to work!"**

**"What did you have in mind?"**

**"I don't think that there's enough time for me to explain the entire plan to you," **Keitaro said bluntly. **"I just need you to get control of all our forces, so that they you can give them the order to fire when I need it. Do you think you can do that?"**

**"Damn right I can do it," **Steven said.

**"Good. I need to get a crucial piece of equipment first, I won't take long."**

Keitaro didn't waste any time. He jumped to his feet and sprinted for the base entrance. Over the wall, past the barbed wire fence, and past the various tents to the helipad. A UH-1H chopper (an updated version of the UH-1N Iroquois), was prepped for takeoff and ready to go. The girls were already onboard and the preflight checklist was almost complete. Keitaro ran up next to the cockpit.

**"Hold it! Do not takeoff!" **he shouted through the cockpit window. **"One of the passengers has something I need!"**

**"Well you better make it quick!"**

He ran over to the open hatch and looked inside. The girls were strapped into their seats. They were looking very miserable at the moment, which was no surprise.

"Su!" Keitaro called out. Her head perked up and she turned toward him.

"Hiyas, Keitaro!" she said. "Watcha doin' here?"

"Do you still have that backup photon power pack for your Mecha Tama-chan?"

"Of course I do!" she replied, pulling out a small, rectangular box from her pocket.

"I need it!"

"Why should I give it to you?"

"Ah, Christ. Because the fate of the country depends on this battle, and I know how to win it, but I need that pack."

"Hmmm. I still don't know if I should give it to you."

"As soon as I return as the landlord, I'll give you a year of free rent and all the bananas you can eat."

"Deal!" she said, tossing the pack to Keitaro. She actually didn't care about the year of free rent, considering she was a princess with quite a large bank account (she still hadn't told anybody this). But all the bananas she could eat, hot damn!

"Thanks, Su," he said as he caught the pack, turned, and ran back for the wall.

As he ran, he took out a magazine from his rifle and took the bullets out. Carefully opening the side of the photon pack, he took out the power cells. He stopped running when he got to the second wall, because the next part was tricky. Taking out his military issue multi-tool, with all the strength he could muster, he used the pliers to pry the anti-tank rounds out of their shell casings, leaving the charge at the bottom of the casing untouched. He dropped the bullets, took the fuel rods, and proceeded to carefully insert them into the casings until they were nice and tight. He inserted the now highly unstable bullets into the magazine. He left the bullets on the ground and resumed running for the wall. He got back to the wall, ejected the clip from the rifle, and inserted the clip with the unstable rounds.

**"Alright, Gunny. I am ready to go. How about you?"**

**"Just say when, and the entire base will unleash hell."**

**"Perfect. Get ready…readyyyyyy GO!"**

**"Fire, fire! All units open fire!"**

Bullets, rockets, shells, everything went screaming through the air. PLA troops were forced to cover, and the unlucky ones were cut down. The mech wasn't damaged by the merciless barrage, but it was distracted. Keitaro jumped over the wall and sprinted for cover. He ducked behind an overturned Ford pickup, peeked over to survey the area, then sprinted for the next destination. This run and cover routine was key to Keitaro's plan. He had to get right near that mech without being noticed. With all of the fire coming from the base, the PLA troops should be too busy to see him. The mech was dead ahead, and Keitaro needed to get right behind it.

A howitzer shell landed a few meters to the left, and sent Keitaro sailing through the air. He landed with a thud and tried to get back up. He tried to take a breathe, but the dust and smoke in the air burned his lungs. His muscles were starting to burn from the constant running, and he had several fresh cuts from the shrapnel that had grazed him. Still, he ran from cover to cover, slowly getting closer to the mech. It was enormous, towering over Keitaro like a mountain. He swung around its left flank to get behind it. On its back was the nuclear reactor. That was his target.

_**"He's about to fire his cannons!"**_ Steven's voice yelled through the comm. _**"Kid, get away from that thing!"**_

The mech's twin howitzer cannons fired. A tremendous shockwave knocked Keitaro to the ground as the high (mind you, these are _very_ high) explosive artillery shells exited the muzzle. At this range, the howitzers had poor accuracy, but the explosives in the shells turned into raging fireballs that incinerated anything nearby. One shell soared over the base and impacted roughly forty meters behind. The explosion that resulted created a massive crater and set fire to the rear wall. The second shell impacted thirty meters to the right of the base. The right wall and tank squad three were completely burned to ashes.

_**"Kid, you better hurry up and get done with whatever you're planning before we're all cooked!"**_Steven yelled over the comm.

**"I'm working on it!" **Keitaro shot back. His ears were ringing from the blast.

He ducked behind a dirt mound as some stray bullets pelted the ground nearby. He took out a bipod from his pack and attached it to the rifle's barrel. He opened the two legs and placed them on the dirt mound. With the rifle stabilized, Keitaro peered through the scope, and adjusted for range and crosswinds. The mech was not moving, which made things a whole lot easier. The crosshairs were right in the center of the reactor. All he had to do was wait for it to start charging the cannon.

* * *

**"Tell Charlie Company to fill in Squad Three's gap right now!" **Dixon growled, restraining his anger. **"Somebody radio Yokosuka and demand reinforcements! I want two companies at the defensive line and two squadrons of Apaches in the air now!"**

**"Hearts, this is Dealer. Move all available units to fill Squad Three's position."**

** "Sir! Yokosuka reports reinforcements are in route. ETA is twenty minutes."**

Dixon grabbed the headset, yanked it off the radioman's head, and started yelling into it:** "We do not have that kind of time! We are being attacked by artillery, God knows how many infantry, and a fucking two-legged mechanized assault vehicle! We…Need…Support…NOW!"**

_**"I'm sorry Dealer, but our logistic capabilities are spread dangerously thin across a large area. This is the best we can do."**_

**"That is so fucking typical!"** Dixon shouted as he slammed the headset down onto the table. **"So much for naval effectiveness."**

**"Sir! Our infrared scanner shows an increase in temperature from that thing's reactor! It's charging the main cannon!"**

**"Okay, to hell with this bullshit! We're pulling back now before we lose any more men!" **He activated the broadcast comm. **"All units retreat! I repeat, all units retreat! Rendezvous at the fallback position for immediate extraction!"**

* * *

As courageous and tough as the Marine Corp is, when they are given the order to retreat, they haul ass so fast that they hardly lose any men in the process. These guys are that good at staying alive. Every troop grabbed what supplies they could carry and ran for the nearest APC, Humvee, and still function tank, which would take them to the fallback point, located approximately thirty kilometers to the east. From there, troops would be shuttled back to Yokosuka Naval Base.

The overall idea behind a retreat from the Kanagawa Prefecture was the preservation of the lives of thousands of American troops, and to reassess the situation they faced. It would take time that wasn't available for the carrier fleet headed from the U.S. to transport fifty-thousand troops to Japan. Eight thousand were already in Japan, with only three hundred at the frontline, and seventy-three thousand Chinese troops were there, with another hundred thousand two days behind, and over a million were in reserve. It is obvious that the U.S. Armed Forces were under par when compared to the PLA. The biggest difference was training, which the PLA didn't excel in. But training means jack shit when you have superior firepower, like a giant mech.

Anyway, a full retreat in the middle of a heavy engagement is very dangerous and hard to pull off. The enemy can easily gun down fleeing soldiers. In order to keep from getting butchered, the front line troops have to hold the forward position while the main body of the army heads for the fallback point. Alpha Company Third Platoon and Bravo Company were both at the frontline.

* * *

**"I never thought it would end this way," **Harland grimaced as he fired his rifle, nailing another soldier in the head. **"Dying to cover my country's best men as they get run out of town."**

**"Hell, I was hoping to die of old age,"** Brooks scoffed.

**"You all knew this was a possibility when you signed up," **Steven said. **"Now less talking and more shooting!"**

**"Amen to that," **Julio said, nodding. **"Okay, we'll draw the mech's fire, and give your boy a clear shot."**

**"Got it. I'll try to get him on the radio." **He activated his comm, **"Kid, how are you holding up?"**

_**"Oh, I'm just fine and dandy, just lounging around with bullets flying over my head, and there's a fucking ten story mech standing right in front of me! How the hell do you think I'm doing?!"**_

**"Fine, point taken. Bravo is going to draw the mech's attention to the left, so you should get a clear shot from its left flank."**

_**"I hear ya. You might want to pile some extra sandbags and run for the hills. His is gonna be one nasty explosion."**_

**"Negative. I'm not leaving a man behind."**

_**"It's your funeral."**_

Bravo Company was heading around to the right wall, firing at the same time. Unfortunately, since their rifles couldn't do any significant damage to the mech, the pilot didn't seem to feel the need to gun them down. Thank God there were some Javelins lying around. Bravo grabbed all that they could and started launching missiles at the mech. These bad babies left their tubes and flew sky high, and then a few seconds later came hurtling straight down onto the mech, letting loose teeth shattering concussions as they hit the mech around the upper area of the cockpit. Although there was no visible damage, you could tell that the pilot was probably pissed off.

**"Take that you bastard!" **Julio shouted as he fire another Javelin. It blasted out of the tube and shot up into the sky, leaving a thick trail of smoke. It went above the low lying clouds, and then came down like the wrath of God. It slammed into the cockpit window, and the explosion that followed caused an ever so small crack to spread from where the anti-tank round had hit. Inside, the pilot swore furiously. He adjusted the controls, turning the mech towards Bravo's position, and started to increase the reactor's fission rate as he began dumping all auxiliary power to the laser cannon.

* * *

**"He's charging his cannon!"**

**"Hold your position!"** Julio shouted.

**"We need to pull back!"**

**"Can it Marine, or you'll be facing a court martial!"**

**"Oh, Jesus, man."**

* * *

**"C'mon, what's the hold up?" **Steven growled under his breath as he sent a four-round spray at a pair of PLA medics. **"Hurry up and take the damn shot, Kid!"**

* * *

**"Come on people, move it! Move it!" **Dixon shouted. Humvees, APCs, tanks, trucks, all manner of transportation was being prepped to haul ass. Everyone around was scrambling to grab a seat. Nobody felt like walking.

* * *

**"Just a little bit more," **Keitaro whispered, his eye glued to the scope. His finger hovered over the trigger.

The left side of the reactor was still facing him. To get the desired effect, he needed to land a shot square on the back where the armor was the weakest. He only had one chance at this…

* * *

The pilot kept his eyes on the readouts on his panel. The reactor was running at seventy-six percent and charging the cannon at thirteen percent per minute. The reactor coolant was keeping the reactor at a moderate temperature to prevent a meltdown, and the containment vessel surrounding the reaction chamber was holding in any and all leaking radiation. Things were going perfectly. He pushed forward on the left joystick to turn the mech to right, aiming at Bravo's position…

* * *

Crosshairs were smack dab in the center of the mech's reactor.

**"This one's for Hosky," **Keitaro said coldly.

He pulled the trigger.

CRACK!!

The high density fuel rod shot through the air at lightning speed. The extreme velocity ripped the protective covering off the rod, allowing the radioactive material to seep out, leaving a bright green contrail as it flew through the air. It impacted on the reactor with a satisfying _thunk!_ as it penetrated the armor and the containment vessel, stopping right inside the reaction chamber…

* * *

THUNK!

The pilot jumped at the sound, and looked at all the gauges and meters, wondering what the hell just happened.

_What was that? _he asked himself.

The blare of the mech's alarm caused the pilot's eyes to dilate to the size of dinner plates. He turned his head towards the stats monitor and his stomach clenched into a tight knot. On the screen was a 3-D model, which showed the various sections and machinery of the mech, and the reactor on the back was rapidly blinking bright yellow. There was a breach in the vessel, and high levels of radiation were leaking out. He immediately activated the reactor's manual shutdown system, and the control rods were dropped into the reactor as far as he could make them go.

The alarm suddenly increased in volumes and frequency as the reactor on the stats monitor went from yellow to red. The reactor was going critical.

* * *

Here is a breakdown of what happened when the fuel rod entered the reactor. Gamma radiation and high energy neutrons started leaking out of the breached containment vessel. The control rods were lowered as far as the pilot could manually, but it wasn't enough. The reactor therefore initiated its failsafe, and it Scrammed automatically, dropping the control rods all the way into the reactor to shut it down. The rods proceeded to absorb the neutrons and being produced by the fission reaction of the Uranium-235. With most of the neutrons resulting from the fission reaction being absorbed, there weren't enough available to collide with the Uranium-235, which would have continued the fission reaction. Thus, less neutrons were produced, and the number of neutrons kept getting smaller and smaller until the fission reaction stopped, the heat energy dissipated, and the reactor went dead. That is to say, this would have happened, had the fuel rod not been inside the reactor.

With the fuel rod present, there was now a surplus of fissile material inside the reactor, which was NOT supposed to happen. The neutrons that did not get absorbed by the control rods collided with the fuel rod, which happened to be made of Plutonium-239. The resulting reaction produced even more neutrons and gamma radiation, which caused the fission reaction to increase its energy yield. The control rods were now being overloaded, as they were not designed to handle fission reactions that used more than the specific amount of fissile material used in the reactor, a rather severe flaw that the Chinese had overlooked. The excess energy started to generate extreme amounts of heat, which threatened to distort the reactor's structure.

* * *

The pilot was freaking out at this point. Once a reactor reaches prompt criticality, it is no longer controllable. He was on the radio with his commanding officer (in this case, his CO was General Qian Guoliang), quite literally pleading for help. Unfortunately for him, the general had no knowledge of nuclear physics whatsoever. He simply told him to do what he was trained to do. Like that was going to help. At this point, all he could do was vent all the overheating coolant, dump all the available reserve coolant into the reactor, and hope that the reactor would explode instead of meltdown. If it were not for the control rods and the coolant, the fission reaction between the uranium and the plutonium would have resulted in a meltdown that would have rendered everything within a twenty-five kilometer radius uninhabitable for the next ninety-three years. Since there _were_ control rods and coolant, the fission reaction eventually just picked up speed at an uncontrollable rate and resulted in a horrific explosion. Since by this time most of the fissile material in the reactor had been used up, the explosion couldn't "go nuclear," but instead just detonated like conventional explosives would. What followed was equivalent to approximately a kiloton of TNT.

* * *

The entire mech was engulfed in a bright white fireball that expanded outwards to a radius of four hundred meters. The concussion from the blast knocked everybody off their feet and rendered their eardrums inoperable for the next thirty seconds or so. The base's sandbag walls were tossed into the air, ripped apart, and completely obliterated. The heat was so intense that the crater that resulted from the blast was covered with a thin, shiny coat of glass.

**"HOLY FUCK!" **Steven cried out loud. He started screaming into his the comm**. "Kid! Respond! What is your status!? Kid, answer me! What the hell just happened!? KID!"**

All that came out of the headset was static. There was no response, and there was no sign of Keitaro anywhere.

* * *

Dixon was just about to board his APC when the mech went up in flames. He hit the dirt as the concussion slammed into him, and he covered his head with his arms. His ears were ringing like a bitch and he couldn't hear shit. A few seconds later, he just barely started hearing the telltale sounds of artillery shells, and a moment later, he managed to hear his own heart beating. Sand started raining down on him. His radio operator was trying to help him to his feet, so he decided to voice what everyone else was thinking.

**"Jesus Christ! What the hell was that?!"**

**"What?" **his radioman asked loudly, practically shouting. **"What did you say?"**

**"I said, 'What the hell was that?'," **Dixon shouted in reply.

**"Sir! I think the mech just blew up! From the inside!"**

**"How the hell did that happen?"**

* * *

**"Oh Christ, man," **Brooks said, holding in tears that he wished he could let out while on the job. **"Not Kid. He was too young."**

**"I didn't even get a chance to show him a good night on the town," **Harland choked out.

_**"This is Bravo here. It looks like the PLA is retreating. We should call the general and tell him to push forward."**_

Steve shakily activated his comm, **"Copy that." **He cleared his throat and spoke through. **"Dealer, this is Spade. The target mech has been eliminated. Say again, the target has been eliminated. Request that we push forward while the enemy is retreating. Over."**

There was a pause, followed by, _**"Damn fine work, Spade! You, and the rest of Alpha and Bravo are getting medals for this! Congratulations!"**_

Steven looked up at Brooks and Harland, who shook their heads. Down the line, Julio raised his hand with his thumb down. Steven gave them a shaky grin, and replied.

**"I am sorry to say that we are going to have to decline your offer. The only one hear that deserves a medal is Private Urashima. He gave his life to destroy the mech."**

_**"Now don't you guys start planning the funeral without me!"**_

Everyone's head whipped around and binoculars were rammed against eyeballs. In the distance, climbing out of the tall dirt mound, with great difficulty, was none other than Keitaro. His face was cut up and there were numerous gashes along his arms and legs. His helmet lay crooked on his head, with large cracks in his HUD visor. He just stood there, holding his still intact M16 in front of him. Needless to say, he looked like shit.

_**"I think its time to end this,"**_ he said over the comm.

Every Marine started to cry out in triumph and punch fists into the air. This was one of the biggest moments of the day for many of them.

_**"All units move forward!" **_Dixon's voice called over the comm._** "Push those bastards back to their own country!"**_

**"OOH-RAH!"**

Every single man, woman, and vehicle charged forward, weapons blazing.

* * *

**Date:** May 1, 2009; 1119 hours

**Location: **PLA Base of Operations. Uptown Hinata City.

**Status: **Perimeter established.

**Alert Level:** Defcon 1

Meanwhile, General Guoliang was throwing an extremely scary, rage induced fit.

"Our Mech! Our prized prototype which cost our people seventy-five _billion _Yuan! Gone! Destroyed by those barbarians!"

His second in command was trying his best to inch towards the tent's exit, in case the general went completely nuts. In a situation like this, the best option is usually to offer advise in the hopes of calming the person down. Even then, the chances of ending up in front of a firing squad for opening his mouth were high.

"Uh, sir. What about the second prototype?"

Guoliang looked at him with death in his eyes.

"Are you mad!? The politburo would have my head cut off if the second prototype were to be destroyed!"

The young man swallowed nervously, and continued.

"True, but the first prototype managed to eliminate a significant number of their troops and equipment. The second should have no problem mopping up the rest of them."

Guoliang looked down at the map in front of him and started some deep thinking.

_What other choice do I have? The Americans are exceptionally skilled in all manner of combat, anyone can see that! Our numbers won't matter at all when word of the first prototype's destruction reaches our reinforcements. Their morale will be shattered. Damn it all…this is my last resort._

He reached for the radio set and opened the channel.

"Send in the second prototype."

* * *

**Date:** May 1, 2009; 1119 hours

**Location: **Outskirts of Hinata City.

**Status: **En route to Downtown Hinata. Engaged in combat.

**Alert Level:** Defcon 1

If one took the time to sit on the ground and look towards the horizon, they would notice that the late morning sun reflects beautifully off the landscape, giving a magnificent glow. The Hinata City outskirts are actually one of the city's best features, with breathtaking parks and ponds scattered around the well kept cobblestone roads. Unfortunately, one could not possibly enjoy the serene beauty, because there was an entire brigade of heavily armed troops running and driving down the roads, heading for downtown.

* * *

**"All right boys!" **Julio shouted to his team, which was currently inside a Humvvee, traveling down the road. **"We're goin' in fast and low. Sweep 'em off the ground and breach their front line. Don't give 'em an inch, and take every damned mile that they've got!"**

**"YES SIR!"**

* * *

Alpha was running at top speed alongside a tank convoy headed for the PLA defensive line. Their weapons were up and they were letting loose dozens of white hot metal slugs. All around them, tracers and rockets whizzed by, flying in graceful arcs as they landed on top of the Chinese soldiers. This was going to be some well deserved payback.

* * *

**Date:** May 1, 2009; 1120 hours

**Location: **Two miles offshore from Yokosuka Naval Base, aboard USS Kittyhawk, on the bridge.

**Status: **All personnel manning their stations. Reactors at 76 percent.

**Alert Level:** Defcon 1

The girls were currently being led to the bridge of the _USS Kittyhawk_ by a young ensign. After the chopper had dropped them off on the flight deck, they were told that the Captain wanted to meet them personally, and that they had to clear the flight deck so that the next squadron of F-18s could be launched. They all followed with downcast expressions on their faces as they quickly made there way through a labyrinth of winding corridors, eventually making it to the bridge.

**"Welcome aboard the USS Kittyhawk," **a middle-aged man said cheerily.** "I am Captain Todd Zecchin, the commanding officer."**

Naru, being the only one with a fluent understanding of the English language, was the one to respond.

**"Uh, nice to meet you, um, sir. Sorry for intruding."**

**"It's no problem at all. I was told that you girls were the last ones to be evacuated from the Kanagawa Prefecture, in the middle of an intense battle. That's worth points on this ship, so make yourselves comfortable, and let me know if there's anything you need."**

**"O-Okay. Thank you."**

**"Master Chief!" **Zecchin called to a young, dirty-blonde haired man who was at helm. **"I have the conn. I want you to take these girls to their quarters."**

**"Captain has the conn, aye."**

He walked past the girls, who followed without a word. The _Kittyhawk_ was a very large aircraft carrier, easy to get lost in. It took about ten minutes of walking down stairs and hallways before they arrived at their quarters. It was a small room with four twin-sized bunks, a small restroom, and plenty of leg room. Pretty much the best thing one could get on a naval vessel if you weren't above the rank of Lieutenant Commander. The girls walked in, Su and Sarah jumped in to claim the top left bunk as theirs, and everybody did their best to relax. As soon as the Master Chief closed the door, the conversations started.

"This is insanity! How in the hell could Keitaro have become like this?" Naru asked loudly.

"Maybe he was gettin' sick of ya poundin' him!" Su suggested cheerfully.

"Su may have a point there," Motoko said, closing her eyes and rubbing her chin, deep in thought. "It is possible that he wished to improve his physical strength and abilities in order to prove to us how capable he is."  
"Sempai is so strong and handsome," Shinobu whispered to herself. She looked up to see everybody looking at her, and immediately turned a deep shade of red. "Did I just say that out loud? Auuuuu!"

"Most likely the dork was dropped on his head," Sarah said with a huff.

"Maybe he wanted to attract our attention more," Kitsune said. "He's already got mine and Shinobu's."

"Would you stop saying things like that!" Kanako shouted angrily. "Onii-chan would never resort to this kind of violence just to please you!"

"Oh, that's just rich coming from you, you brother loving little freak!" Naru yelled.

"You wanna make something of it!?" Kanako stood up and assumed an offensive pose. "Bring it on bitch!"

"Right back at you goth-girl!"

As the two started trading horribly aimed punches, and stretched each other's mouths, nobody noticed Su and Sarah building something on their bunk.

"Okay you two, cut the shit," Haruka said calmly as she hit them both over their heads with her paper fan. They immediately withdrew to opposite sides of the room to nurse their wounds, each sporting numerous shiners and staring icy daggers.

"Oh my, look at what Sarah and Su have made!" Mutsumi said happily.

Everybody looked at Su and Sarah, who were carrying down a huge television-like device from their bunk. They placed it on an available chair and started to fiddle with the knobs and switches.

"Ladies and gentlemen…actually, just ladies, I give you the Combat Cam Receiver Unit 2000!" Su said, throwing streamers into the air. "In today's day and age, every soldier in the field has a fiber-optic camera built into their helmet's HUD, or Heads-Up-Display, to record everything the soldier sees. A small flash memory drive in their helmet records what the camera sees, and also sends the video footage to a military database via a UHF transmitter, should the helmet's memory drive get destroyed. This device taps into the transmissions as they are sent, so that we can see whatever the camera we are watching sees. Naturally, it has a built in translator so we can understand everything that is said. Best of all, the transmissions are in real time, so what we are watching is happening right as we watch it!"

Naru was absolutely out of it when she heard this. "You mean to tell me that we can know what Keitaro is doing at any time?!"

"Yup," Su said with a grin, "so long as he's wearing his helmet."

Naru jumped at Su and started shaking her back and forth. "What are you waiting for!? Turn it on! Turn it on!"

When Naru stopped shaking Su, the poor girl fell to the ground, her eyes all swirly.

"Uh, Naru? Maybe you should consider Valium," Haruka said.

"Um, I'm sorry?" Naru blushed, embarrassed.

"Ok, ok," Su said as she got up off the floor. "Don't get all crazy on us. I'll turn it on."

Su started flipping and rotating the various switches and knobs. The monitor was displaying static, and occasionally came across the local television station broadcasts. Su frequently adjusted the frequency, trying to find the right one.

_"Bravo…do you read…enemy tank…heavy fire…request sup-"_the screen was displaying a very grainy, poor resolution image of the inside of a tank's turret. The camera was focused on the monitor inside the turret, which showed the crater-filled, bloody, and violent landscape right outside of downtown Hinata. Tracers, rockets, and shells were flying through the air, some of them landing dangerously close-by. In the bottom left hand corner of the screen was a small block of words, which read (in English) "Sgt. William V. Hunter, Gunner, 3rd Mechanized Division, Serial#: H58l041."

"Alright! We're getting close to the right frequency!" Su hollered in triumph. She did some more fine tuning, making microscopic adjustments to the controls. Each fine adjustment went through dozens of cameras, so it was hard to keep track of who was who.

"Wait! Wait! Go back a bit!" Naru said quickly.

Su lightly flicked the knob she was using, and immediately the screen was filled with hundreds of tracers.

"THAT'S HIM!"

Naru's scream caused everybody to jump into the air in surprise. The fact that it was Keitaro's helmet cam that was being watched caused everybody to shake away the ringing in their ears rather quickly. The girls crowded around the screen with intense concentration, wondering what they would get to see…

* * *

**Date:** May 1, 2009; 1125 hours (Military Time)

**Location: **Financial District, Downtown Hinata City.

**Status: **Engaged in combat.

**Alert Level:** Defcon 1

**"Target! MG nest at three o'clock! Fifth story window!" **Harland called out.

**"I hear ya,"** Keitaro replied calmly. He lifted his rifle, sighted through the scope, and took aim. He squeezed of a three-round burst**.**

**"Target eliminated."**

Spade was crouched behind a low stone wall that separated two office buildings. Large divisions of tanks were moving down the street just ten feet from their position, with the rest of Alpha's Humvees following closely, branching off into nearby streets as per their orders. The mechanized divisions were comprised of M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tanks. These bad boys were moving up the main streets, while the infantry and heavy assault teams moved through the alleys and side streets, eliminating anti-armor groups that were waiting for their chance at a big kill. Spade had the task of paving the main streets along side the tanks.

**"Alright! Let's get moving people! We're behind schedule!" **Steven shouted as he vaulted over the wall. The others quickly followed suit. They ran at top speed, crouched down to avoid the incoming bullets. They all found their own tank to take cover behind as convoy made its way up the main street. The tanks were doing a very thorough job of clearing all resistance along the streets and hidden in the buildings, hosing areas down with their 12.7mm Browning M2 machine guns, and blowing large holes into the road and the buildings with their 120mm M256 smoothbore guns, which were firing M829 APFSDS-T depleted uranium penetrator shells.

_**"Spade, this is the lead tank, call sign Hellhound. Be advised, we are approaching the main junction. How do you want to proceed from here?"**_

**"Three more divisions are advancing on either side of us," **Steven said into his comm. **"My IR scanner isn't picking up any hostiles within the immediate vicinity. Go ahead and blow straight through!"**

_**"Copy that. Heading down the main street. Better pick up the pace, we're gonna fly."**_

The tanks suddenly lurched forward as they jumped up from five to twelve kilometers an hour. The sudden change of speed caught everybody slightly off guard, but picked up the pace in order to stay with their tank. The convoy was rapidly entering the major intersection between downtown Hinata's two largest streets. They were just passing the traffic lights…

The lead tank was hit in the front by an RPG, which ripped through the tracks, causing the tank to stop.

An anti-tank mine detonated right beneath the convoy's rear tank, which was quickly engulfed in flames as the fuel tank went up.

Rapid machine gun fire filled the air. All around the convoy, soldiers were materializing in the windows and on the roofs of all the nearby buildings.

**"AMBUSH! Get down!"**

Spade got down and planted themselves against the sides and rears of the nearest tanks and proceeded to return fire. The commander and gunner of the lead tank had survived the blast, only getting grazed by some stray fragments that had gotten to their compartments. The commander quickly looked through his observation periscope, following the RPG's smoke trail back to a tall hotel on the far right street corner. His IR scanner showed four heat sigs crouched behind a small wall on the eighth floor balcony.

**"Target! Two o'clock high, eighth floor! Shoot!"**

The gunner moved his control yoke over, training his reticle on the balcony. He depressed the button for the laser range finder, which measured the range to be twenty-six meters. The fire control computer calculated a firing solution based on: wind velocity, ammunition type, temperature, and barometric pressure. The main gun elevated and rotated based on this information, the whole process taking about a second-and-a-half. The gunner squeezed the triggers.

The 120mm gun recoiled from the blast, and the spent shell casing was ejected. The round shot through the air and blew a gaping hole in the floor of the balcony, which then crumbled and fell to the ground, along with a couple of bodies.

**"Hit! Target eliminated!"**

Outside of the tank, Spade was picking troops off of the rooftops with ease. The Chinese soldiers weren't doing a great job of taking cover when the bullets were flying. Tracer rounds were carving little ditches into the ground dangerously close, and the tanks were getting pounded mercilessly with heavy MG rounds. A handful of AP rounds penetrated the engine of the lead tank, which was still running idle, and lodged into one of the turbine's fan blades. With a loud wrenching of metal, the turbine engine proceeded to rip itself apart, sending sparks everywhere, and igniting the fuel line. As the flames raced through the line towards the fuel tank, the commander and gunner struggled to open the hatches. Unfortunately, a constant barrage of heavy MG rounds tends to bend and warp metal, no matter how armored it is, and the seams around the hatches were, for lack of a better term, pinched together.

**"Well shit," **the commander said in a defeated voice.

The flames reached the fuel tank and ignited. The fuel turned into a raging fireball that consumed the inside of the tank and the concussion from the blast turned the tank's armor into deadly shrapnel that flew out in every direction. Secondary explosions sounded out as the remaining ammo in the tank proceeded to cook off. Heavy shells shot off at random, blowing huge chunks out of buildings. A piece of shrapnel flew towards the second tank in the convoy, ricocheted off the bottom of the tank's cannon, then off the top of the chassis, soared in a subtle arc, and landed right in Brooks' left leg.

**"Aauugh!" **Brooks cried out in pain. **"I'm hit!"**

**"Man down!" **Steven yelled. **"Harland, get over to Brooks and patch him up! Me and Kid will cover you!"**

**"Alright." **

Harland ran over to Brooks and crouched down by his side. Blood was pouring out of the ugly gash in Brooks' leg.

**"God, it burns like hell!" **Brooks swore.

**"Calm down and let me take a look at your leg," **Harland said calmly. He took a small pair of scissors and cut away a large section of Brooks' pants that was surrounding the wound. A large jagged piece of metal was sticking out of his leg. Harland took out a set of small pliers and a set of gauze bandages.

**"Kid, come help me!"**

Keitaro took a shot that landed in a guy's gut, then turned toward Harland and crouched down. Sweat was pouring off of his face, and his eyes were completely bloodshot from his rifle's muzzle blast and the smoky air.

**"I need you to pull open the wound so that I can reduce the damage to the leg when I pull the shrapnel out. Take this bottle of hydrogen peroxide, and as soon as I pull the shrapnel free, pour it onto the wound, and I'll put the gauze on. Got it?"**

**"Got it." **

**"Okay, get ready……Go!"**

Keitaro stretched the wound open, and Harland yanked the metal shard out. Brooks let out such an ear piercing cry as pain erupted from every nerve in his leg. Keitaro pulled the top off the bottled with his teeth and dumped the contents onto the wound, causing Brooks to scream out again as a fresh wave of pain washed over him. Harland slapped the gauze on the wound, and started wrapping the bandages on it as tightly as humanly possible. He secured the bandages and packed up his supplies.

**"That should be good for an hour or so," **he said in a relieved voice. **"But we still need to get him to a hospital."**

**"Good work Harland!" **Steven yelled over the explosion of another RPG.** "Now get him off his ass and back in the fight!"**

**"Yes, Sir!"**

Brooks was clenching his teeth so hard it seemed like he was trying to break his own jaw. The pain was so excruciating, it was amazing that he hadn't passed out.

**"Brooks! Can you still fight?" **Keitaro asked.

**"Hell yeah!" **Brooks said. **"Goddamn Chinese bastards aren't taking me out!"**

**"I wouldn't say that if I were you!" **Steven shouted. **"They just took out two more of our tanks! If we don't get some support, we're all gonna die!"**

**"Shit! They just set up a fucking anti-tank rifle on top of that roof!" **Keitaro said angrily. **"The damned air vents are blocking my shot! Take cover!"**

An AP round slammed into the tank Keitaro was crouched behind and exited out the other side, right near his head.

**"Dammit! Dealer this is Spade, we are pinned down in the main street intersection by several MG and anti-armor crews! We need support before we get shredded! Over."**

_**"Negative, Spade. We are currently supporting Bravo Company in taking out the enemy's main artillery. There are no available reinforcements."**_

**"Damn!"**

**"Gunny, we need help! That AT-rifle is taking our cover apart!" **Brooks said.

**"There's nothing available! We got nothing!"**

**"Well then we're fucked!"**

**"Contact! I got five birds inbound from the south." **Harland said.** "They don't look like ours!"**

**"What?" **Steven took out his binoculars and looked toward the sky. A flight of five jets was coming fast towards their position. They didn't seem to be carrying any USAF insignias.

**"Oh shit! They must have called in reinforcements!" **Steven said in anguish.

**"Well, I must say that it was fun working with you guys," **Keitaro said gloomily. **"See you on the other side."**

The jets roared by overhead and dropped their payloads. The bombs came screaming down, and impacted on their targets.

…..

…..

**"Uh, why aren't we dead yet?" **Brooks asked.

**"Because those bombs weren't meant for us,"** Steven said in an ecstatic voice. **"Look!"**

The building where the AT crew had been was now a pile of rubble. The surrounding buildings were piles of rubble as well. All of the MG crews were incinerated.

**"What the hell is go--look up there!" **Harland said, pointing up to the sky.

A squadron of attack choppers was racing down the street, their chain guns blazing and their missile pods launching salvos on the Chinese soldiers. Higher up, a trio of transport planes was flying overhead, and troops were coming down, parachutes flaring open. The sky automatically filled with AA-tracers as the Chinese tried to shoot the paratroopers down. Another flight of jets came soaring over and nailed the nearby AA sites that had exposed their positions. The paratroopers landed and automatically started hosing every Chinese soldier in sight.

**"Holy crap! Who are these guys?" **Keitaro asked.

Just then, a man landed right in front of them, his parachute fluttering down to the ground. He was wearing an unusually colored camouflage uniform, wearing a beret that had a gold and silver insignia on it.

**"Never thought I'd see the day where the United Stated Marine Corp would need to be rescued," **he said bluntly.

**"Who the hell are you?" **Steven said in a somewhat annoyed voice.

**"The names Master Sergeant Benjamin Hubbard, USMC," **he said cheerily, shaking Steven's hand**. "I'm currently on loan to the Australian SAS, training their regiments to be the best around. The government was a little slow making a decision, but they decided to lend a hand. We saw that you needed some help, so we dropped in."**

**"Well thank God, we were about to get destroyed. You just can't rely on the higher ups to give reliable support."**

**"I know exactly what you mean. Hey, watch your back!"**

He pulled out his weapon, an FN Minimi, a light machine gun that fired 5.56 x 45 mm NATO rounds up to 725 rounds a minute. He clicked of the safety and let loose dozens of rounds, which ripped through a pair of Chinese soldiers that had snuck around the corner of one of the buildings. The bodies fell to the ground in bloody tatters.

**"Whoa, nice grouping," **Steven said.

**"Thanks. Practice everyday at the range."**

**"Well, now that we know each other, why don't we get the fuck outta here!" **Brooks yelled. **"My leg still has a hole in it!"**

**"I hear ya. Let's move out men!"**


	7. Author's Note Update 2010

Hey guys! How's it going? Yeah, I know, most of you are screaming, "Where the fuck have you been?" and "Why the hell haven't you updated yet?" The answer is simple: Writer's Block Blows, otherwise known as WBB syndrome. Although I lost most of my data due to my computer crash a few years ago, I still had all the later chapters fresh in my head. However, I didn't feel really good about them. And then it hit me; as soon as I finish the first battle scene, what then? I can't write for shit when it comes to the day to day events of Hinata Sou, or even regular romance, drama, humor events at all. Despite what I have written in my bio, all I am really good at is realistic war/action scenes. I'm ashamed to even call myself a writer.

If you have read SecondSeraphim's story "Gasoline," you will notice that I agreed to co-write the action scene in chapter seven. I realized then that my writing skills were better suited for short action scenes rather than full stories. Therefore, I am opening my doors to people who need help writing action scenes for their stories. Military scenarios would be preferable, but I'm not too picky.

As for my story, here's the deal: I will do everything in my power to continue this story. However, after this first war scene is complete, I will either have to end the story there, OR, I will need a co-writer to help me continue the story so that it actually has some "love" in it. In the meantime, the new college semester is upon me, and I have five classes, a job, and a paintball club to attend to (yay, paintball! ^ ^). While most of my time will be taken up, I will still keep writing.

To all those that are disappointed that this is an author's note update and not a new chapter, here's a little sneak peek at the next one.

* * *

"abc"-speech

_"abc"-_speech over radio/TV

_abc-_thought

"**abc"-**English speech

_** "Spade, this is Bravo. We're taking position inside the lobby of the Fujitsu office building to the right of the barricade. We're gonna try to flank the mg-nests that they've set up. Over."**_

**"Roger that," **Steven replied. **"We'll draw their fire downrange. Stay clear of the street, and good luck."**

** "Sarge! They've got mobile howitzers 300 meters past the intersection," **Harland called out.** "I think they're – Oh shit! They just fired!"**

** "Take cover!"**

Everyone hit the ground as 122mm shells rained down on their position. Left and right, huge geysers erupted as basketball sized chunks of dirt and concrete were sent flying. The concussive blasts were enough to keep everyone on the ground and vulnerable to the debris that began to rain back down on them…

* * *

Sorry it's so short, but it's all I got right now. Until next time folks.

Peace Out!


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